Futuristic Warrior From the Past
by Patriot1776
Summary: Who's this albino foreigner our heroes come across, why is he being hunted constantly, and why are there darker forces coming upon the land? A more sinister threat puts Naraku and the jewel shards on the back burner for the time being.
1. Chapter 1

Futuristic Warrior From the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter I

_Authors' Notes:_

_Yahweh - Original Jewish name for God, otherwise known as Kami-sama_

_Gladius - Roman broadsword._

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled again as she hurled her boomerang at a the 7 foot tall, goat legged, horned oni. It had the head of a goat, the legs of a goat, but the torso and arms were that of a man. The boomerang flew at it and hit and seemed to just bounce off, the oni grunted in discomfort from the hit. In response it flung a ball of red plasma at her.

"Sango!" InuYasha yelled as raced over, grabbed her, and jumped out of the way of the plasma throw. "Kagome, where's the Jewel Shard located on it?"

Kagome focused on the oni for a minute as she ran. Then looked surprised. "It doesn't have one! I can't sense one on it!"

"What? We came all the way out here for nothing!" InuYasha then shouted.

"Then how come its so powerful?" Miroku then asked as he threw some ofudas at it. To his utter bewilderment, the ofudas dissolved when they approached the creature. "My spiritual powers won't work on it!"

"Let me try mine!" Kagome shouted as she nocked an arrow and let fly toward the oni. Surprisingly, she was right on target and hit the oni square in the back with the glowing arrow. The oni let out a bloodcurdling roar as it reached back and yanked the arrow out, leaving a blackened spot in its back. It's hand was burned too from grabbing the arrow.

"Damnit! This bastard just won't die! _Kaze no Kizu!_" InuYasha yelled as he slammed Tetsusaiga into the ground, unleashing the Wound of the Wind at the oni. His aim was true and the attack hit home. The oni again roared as it entered its death throes. Miroku was preparing to unleash the Wind Tunnel when it suddenly dissolved into a blood red liquid and sank into the ground.

"What, where'd it go?" Shippo asked from his safe spot in a nearby tree.

"Who cares? At least the damn thing's dead." InuYasha said as he sheathed Tetsusaiga.

"I've never seen a demon die like that before." Sango then said, confused. Miroku put a hand to his chin and walked up to where the creature had died, now a small bare spot in the grass.

"Whoa! Get away!" Miroku shouted to no one in particular as he jumped back from the spot, panting.

"What is it Miroku?" Kagome asked as she started to walk up to him.

"I just felt a presence of pure evil from that spot, as if the creature just sank back into the depths from where it came."

"So you're saying that wasn't an ordinary demon?" InuYasha then asked.

"No, it was an oni, but it wasn't like any kind of oni I've ever encountered before. It's aura seemed much, much darker. I think it would be a good idea for us to remain in this village for tonight in case it comes back."

Kagome was about to voice her opposition when the village headman ran up from behind a hut.

"You did it! You did it! Thank you so, so much! Stay here for the night as our thanks!" he said excitedly.

"Thanks but-" Kagome started to say, but Miroku cut her off.

"We'd be honored to stay here for the night. I could protect your daughter in case another demon decides to attack. I could-" BAM! Miroku's acceptance of the offer was cut short by Sango whacking him over the head with her boomerang.

"Can it monk." Sango said gruffly.

"Follow me then." The headman then began to lead them back to his multi-roomed hut as the sun began to set, revealing dark storm clouds on the horizon.

_0 SceneChange 0_

"We're not going back tonight, and that's final!" InuYasha yelled as he slammed his fist down onto the table, causing the plates to rise an inch off the table before coming to rest rather noisily.

"I've got a test coming up, and I need three days to study!" Kagome yelled back. "If you won't let us all go, I'll just borrow Kiara and go myself!"

"Keh! Fat chance. I won't let you go on your own if you do. I'll just follow you and drag you back."

"You do, and I'll say _it_ till you're six feet in the ground!" Kagome snapped back. That shut up InuYasha right then, and he just got up from the table and lumbered over to a corner and sat down, growling.

"InuYasha, please let her go back! We're almost out of can-" BOOM! "AAAHHH!" Shippo screamed as he dove for cover into Kagome's lap as a loud peal of thunder echoed across the valley.

"Thunder. That's not good. Kagome, if you plan on going, we'll go too, but we have to leave now." Miroku then said calmly.

"Feh. Let's get going already then." InuYasha grunted as he got up walked out of the hut. Miroku again thanked the headman for his hospitality as they all then left. Kagome got on InuYasha's back, the others got on Kiara.

They set out at a rapid pace through the grassy valley, trying to cover as much distance as possible when the first lightning bolt hit. The heavens then seemed to open up literally as torrents of rain began to fall. The thunder and lightning then began to get more intense, lighting the area up and the loudness was such that they were now having to shout and stay close to hear one another.

"Shouldn't we go back! I don't think this was a good idea!" Shippo shouted as he trembled from Kagome's shoulder.

"Too late now runt! Suck it up!" InuYasha shouted without looking over his shoulder as he bounded over another treetop. As he landed, the tree in front of him exploded from a direct hit of lightning!

"AAAHHH!" Kagome and Shippo screamed as they both nearly throttled InuYasha from death grips. InuYasha almost fell over backwards, but barely managed to regain his posture while flailing his arms around. Sango had to pull hard on Kiara's fur to keep her from panicking as Miroku wrapped his arms tight around her. They didn't have time to recover, as more lightning began to make their surroundings explode in flames, almost as if the lighting was being aimed at them!

"Take cover over there!" Miroku shouted as he pointed toward a cave opening he noticed thanks to the lightning flashes and the flames. InuYasha and Kiara didn't hesitate and bolted toward the cave opening, diving into it. Once inside, they all sat down to catch their breath as the thunderous pounding continued.

"Something odd is going on out there, it's as if it was aimed at us!" Miroku said, looking outside at the numerous flashes.

"No kidding dammit! We almost got flash fried!" InuYasha replied, rubbing his ears and throat. His head buzzed from the amount of pounding from the thunder booming, and he felt as if he had been hanged and cut down from the grip Kagome had put on his throat.

Once settled down, InuYasha and Miroku searched around the cave for dry wood and made a fire. Shippo still shivered in fear from the storm and hugged up to Kagome. They all sat and stared outside, watching, until a small, uneasy mew came from Kiara.

"What is it Kiara?" Sango said, standing up. The neko demon stood looking off into the darkness, towards the back end of the cave. "Hey guys, I think she senses something." InuYasha stood up and walked over to where she stood and sniffed the air.

"You're right, I smell something strange, nothing I have never smelled before, let's check it out. Our problem earlier might just be waiting behind us." He said.

"Yeah, let's go look. I want to get away from the storm." Shippo said, still scared. They all stood up, Kagome pulling an emergency flashlight out of her bag, and heaving the bag over her shoulder. They wandered through the cave, walking on for what seemed an eternity until they came upon a metal door, with strange symbols painted on it.

"What the hell is this? I have never seen something like this before." InuYasha said, walking up to the door. With a metallic groan, the door suddenly slid open, revealing a florescent lit corridor of concrete.

"Its an automatic door, we have things like that in my time." Kagome said. "But I've never seen one with Latin written on it."

"But what is it doing here? What could be beyond this strange hallway?" Miroku said.

They continued onward, exploring the complex. They never came upon any other living things, but the technology they found was very advanced, beyond Kagome's time. All the others were astonished at the strange lighting, the computer screens with Latin on them, and automatic doors. Kagome was confused, why was something like a military bunker doing in the feudal era? Kagome did what she could to translate the Latin, using her text books, but it was of little use, it was too complex to decipher beyond sparse words.

They then entered a strange circular room, strange blue light flowing about. In the center stood what appeared to be a column of ice and glass, with a person frozen inside! It appeared to be a Caucasian human male, about the age of Kagome, and of small stature. His hair was distractingly white, and his skin was so pale it seemed to glow. The only clothing he wore was a long pair of black shorts. He looked like he was floating in the air, but not moving at all. They cautiously approached him.

"Kagome, what in the hell is that?" InuYasha said, utterly amazed.

"I've only seen things like this in the movies, but I think it's called cryogenic freezing. I think he's asleep. He could have been like this for years, even decades."

"So you're saying he's frozen? How is he still alive?" Sango said.

"That's the part I don't understand. But I want to know why he is here in the first place." Kagome replied.

"How about I bust him out of there?" InuYasha said, putting a hand on Tetsusaiga.

"NO! That might kill him! We have no idea how this works, and I don't want to put him at risk." Kagome protested.

"How do we know if he is even human, by the looks of it, he don't seem human." InuYasha said.

"I agree with Kagome, he is completely at our mercy right now, and I like to talk to this guy. Kagome, try to get him out." Miroku said.

"How do you expect me to know that!"

"Well, you're from the future…" Miroku replied, uneasily. He was cut off by a loud ZZZAAPPP! FRIZZLEFRIZZLEPOW! Electricity arced across the stasis tube's surface, and the lights flickered.

"The lightning again!" Shippo screamed, running away. As the lights became bright again, a soft alarm sounded, and a computerized voice said something incoherent.

"Who's there!" Sango said, readying her Hiraikotsu.

"Sango, that was not a person, but a computer. What is all of this? This is all like something out of a sci-fi movie!" Kagome said, looking around quickly

"Um, Kagome, the frozen guy's column is cracking." InuYasha said, confusedly.

Kagome whipped around to see the glass tube cracking, squirting blue fluid out in all directions. They all started backing away nervously, when it suddenly shattered. The form inside dropping onto the pedestal with a thump. Kagome started to run up to the human, but InuYasha stopped her.

"Wait, what if it tries to kill you?" InuYasha said coolly.

"But what if he doesn't? I can't stand by and just stare. He may be dying!" Kagome then wrenched free from his gasp and ran up to the pedestal, and sat him upright. His skin was extremely cold, almost like touching ice. "InuYasha, give me your haori! He's freezing!" The human then opened his blue eyes and looked at her. He said something incoherent to her.

"What?" She said. The human's face took the look to a mask of contrition, and he rolled away from her and sprang to his feet. His posture was not right from just waking up from cold sleep, and he stumbled a bit. He then scanned the others. His eyes fell upon InuYasha, and he bared his teeth.

"Feh, I knew it!" InuYasha said, drawing Tetsusaiga. He then lunged at the boy sized human, sword held back to cleave him in two. But his sword never touched him, the boy back flipped out of the way and landed on his feet. Then the boy jumped, barreling into InuYasha like a football lineman. "HOOF!" InuYasha grunted as he was knocked all the way across the room into the far wall, smacking concrete. The boy looked to the others and shouted something in his unknown tongue.

"Hey calm down, we are not here to hurt you." Kagome said, trying to calm him down. He didn't even look at her, the boy shot at InuYasha with amazing speed and pinned him up to the wall, holding him off the ground.

"Damn he's strong!" InuYasha said, trying to break his steel-like grip. He stopped though, when the boy started pounding him in the face with his fist. InuYasha's head started jerking backward into the wall with each punch. Blood from InuYasha's face began to splatter onto the floor.

'_He hits as hard as Sesshomaru! I've got to break free before he knocks me out!' _InuYasha thought.

"I'll stop him!" Sango said. She ran up to the boy and swung Hiraikotsu at full force, hitting the boy in the back of the head. The boy was knocked a few feet away from InuYasha, landing on the concrete floor, he started to get up but only manage to turn over. Blood began to run down the back of his neck and drip onto the floor.

"Sango, that was way to hard! You might of killed him!" Kagome said. She ran up to the boy again and sat down next to him, pulling out her first aid kit. The boy didn't stop her from patching the back of his head, he was to stupefied to. InuYasha sat where he had been dropped, in a very similar state. The boy looked into Kagome's face with his hazy blue eyes and said something to her. "Shh." She held pressure to the back of his head to stop the bleeding. The boy then reached up to her hand and pulled hers free and cupped it with his own and uneasily stood up.

"No, you are not going to attack him again, you have to stop me first." Kagome said, stepping in front of InuYasha. The boy turned away from them and staggered down a corridor, not even paying attention. "What?" They followed the boy, leaving InuYasha to sit and see stars for a while. The boy went so far down the corridor before stopping at a door with a panel next to it. Placing his hand on the panel, the door opened and he stepped inside. They followed to see what appeared to be an armory, with weapons that were extremely advanced. Some of the weapons looked archaic, a gladius with a glowing white blade amongst them. Others looked vaguely similar to guns Kagome had seen out of several sci-fi movies. The human however, walked past them all, instead walking up to a panel-like device with a red cross on it. Kagome recognized the cross as looking like the symbol of the Red Cross from her time, and deduced it to be a medical station of some sort. He put his hand on it, and a strange light flowed over his body and then went out. A strange, metal appendage then came out of the device and clamped to the back of his head where the wound was. It flashed once, then left, the wound having disappeared completely. The others mouths dropped open in shock as he then sat down at a computer terminal and began typing, shaking some of the blood and blue fluid from his hair. After typing for a few moments, he turned to them and then started motioning to them to speak.

"You want us to say something? What?" Kagome then asked. He then suddenly stopped motioning and put out a 'thumbs up'. The screen then changed and text started to rapidly flow across it. He then reached over to a box, opened it, and pulled out a wire with a strange cap on it. He pulled the cap off, revealing a metal spikes and wire ends. Taking the wire, he then jammed it into the base of his neck. The strange human then began to fidget and twitch where he sat. Kagome and the others winced just as InuYasha stumbled into the room, swaying about and growling, his face swollen from the blows. Kagome immediately ran over to him.

"InuYasha, don't. He's stopped attacking us. It seems like he's trying to talk to us now." Kagome then said.

"I don't fucking care! He just pounded in my face and I need to repay the favor!" InuYasha then said angrily, starting toward the human.

"Osuwari." Kagome then said calmly. The kotodama beads then glowed and InuYasha slammed face first into the steel and concrete deck. The human looked over at them with a confused look and pulled the wires out of the back of his neck. He stood up and faced them.

"All right. Now, just who are you and what are you doing here?" The boy said in fluent Japanese. Everybody's jaws dropped to the floor at that.

"What in the…how did you…learn our language that fast? That's impossible!" Miroku then said.

"It's simple to transmit computer data into the brain, all a matter of electrons. But I asked a question, I want an answer." he then said, clenching his fists.

"We were caught in a thunderstorm outside and sought shelter in a nearby cave, and we stumbled upon this place. Curiosity got the best of us, I guess. What are you doing here? What about this whole place? Where did it come from? Who are you?" Kagome then asked, flabbergasted.

"I am Galahad, and I was put into stasis until the time came again when I would have to return to face the forces of Hell in battle. What I don't understand is that you have light weight demons with you and under your command. They are not the same as the ones I have faced, but similar. They are more like beasts instead of demons." Galahad then got up and walked into another room, and the others followed.

"Hey, I'm not a light weight! I can kill 100 demons in one strike with my sword!" InuYasha then said.

"100 pitiful demons, maybe, but nothing like the horrors I have faced." Galahad replied without a glance as he opened up a case containing a fully enclosing power suit of very advanced design. He began assembling it upon his body. At the mention of his name, a light started flickering in Kagome's head.

'_Where have I heard that name before? I know it has something to do with Western History, but where?_' Kagome thought. Then it hit her. '_I remember the name Sir Galahad from the tales of King Arthur! This can't be the same guy, can it? Wait a minute. Those tales were only myth, weren't they?_

"Galahad," Kagome then spoke up. "have you heard of the tales of King Arthur by any chance?"

"King Arthur, who is that? What do you mean?" Galahad's face suddenly went blank. "What year is it?" He then suddenly asked.

"Well according to the calendar I use, the year is about 1500 A.D., plus or minus one year." Kagome then said.

"A.D.? What does that mean?"

"A.D. means _Anno Domini_, or Year of our Lord. It is 1500 years after the birth of Christ." Kagome then said. The others started giving her weird looks too.

"Christ? Are you speaking of the son of Yahweh?" Galahad then asked.

"Yahweh? I've never heard Kami-sama called that before." Kagome then said.

"Christ, known as Jesus, was allegedly supposed to come when Yahweh's people needed a Savior, which is supposed to be long after my ti-" Galahad suddenly stopped. "I have been in stasis far too long then. And you say it has been 1,500 years since His birth?"

"That's what I'm saying." Kagome replied.

"Good Lord! I have been frozen for over 6,000 years then! My civilization is probably gone!"

The others completely collapsed at that. Kagome got back to her feet first.

"WHAT! 6,000 years! There's no possible way all of this stuff could still be working after all that time!" She then said flabbergasted again.

"That definitely beats out Oyaji then!" InuYasha said in a just as flabbergasted voice.

"Yes it is possible. Everything still works because of how well it was made. After coming to this planet after the Great War that ravaged Eden, we came here to-" He was cut off by Kagome.

"_This planet_? What are you saying?" Kagome was at the edge of reasoning.

"I'm saying that your predecessors, my people, came from somewhere else in the solar system. After the initial war with the spawn of Hell we had to leave or slowly die from the amount of damage the ecosystem had sustained. So we came here, and since you know none of this, it looks like my people collapsed and we as a race have lost a lot of knowledge."

"Okay, I am officially freaked out. I still don't see how this is possible." Kagome said.

"You can say that again." Sango agreed.

"No one would remember, it's been thousands of years anyway." Galahad replied. Finished with assembling his suit, he picked up the gladius from the shelf and strapped it to his waist. He also grabbed a odd looking rifle off the wall and went into the next room, carrying his fez topped helmet to his silver armor. The next room was rather dark except for the light emanating from the object sitting in a glass case at the far end. Galahad walked up to it and kneeled before it, saying words in his archaic tongue. The case then opened and Galahad reached inside, pulling out what appeared to by a winged figure holding a sword.

"Ah, the greatest of our demon slaying weapons, the Soul Cube." Galahad said, holding it at arms length, looking it over.

"Some weapon, it looks like a child's toy." InuYasha said. Galahad shot a look of zealous hate at him.

"Do not insult me over this, unless you wish to have Yahweh's judgment upon you. And I can tell you that you would be cast amongst the darkness." Galahad snapped, rather angrily.

"InuYasha, I think you better apologize for that, otherwise I'll say the 'o' word." Kagome then said.

"Oh don't worry, when I'm done with him he'll be completely vaporized." Galahad then said, rather cheerfully at the thought. InuYasha growled.

"Just what does this 'Soul Cube' do?" Miroku then asked, mostly to try and save InuYasha's butt, and partly out of his own curiosity.

"The Soul Cubes are among our greatest of artifacts of tremendous power. We created them during the original demonic invasion of our homeworld to drive the infernal horde back into Hell. The reason why it's called the Soul Cube is because it takes the energy from the souls of slain enemies and uses them as its power. Here, let me show you." Galahad then touched a certain spot on it, and four wings unfolded, turning into blades. The figure then took a battle ready stance. "Now, if this thing was charged up, all I'd have to do InuYasha is just touch you with it and you would be completely destroyed, all the way down to the last molecule." Galahad then deactivated the Soul Cube and attached it to his waist. "What about the rest of you, I do not know your names, beyond you, InuYasha, and Kagome."

"I'm Miroku. I'm a wandering monk in the service of Bhudda, and this is Sango, a demon exterminator, but she doesn't hunt the kinds of oni you refer to. And that's Shippo, and this is Kiara. Shippo's a kitsune demon, and Kiara's a fire neko demon. InuYasha is half dog demon and half human with a human mother. We're all traveling together because we are hunting down the shards to a special jewel, and also hunting a powerful evil ourselves." Miroku then went into a brief explanation of the Shikon no Tama.

"A powerful artifact. But InuYasha is half-human? How could a creature and a human…never mind, I don't wanna know. Anyway, who is this evil you hunt? Does he wish to possess the fragments of this artifact as well?" Galahad then said, intrigued.

"His name is Naraku. He's caused much, much suffering in these lands. He's killed all the others of Sango's kind, he's placed a curse on me, and he's caused InuYasha much suffering as well. He seeks to complete the Shikon no Tama so he can become full demon. He's half-demon like InuYasha, but he was created from the merger of countless pathetic demons and a human." Miroku explained. Galahad continued to walk about the facility, gathering different things from different places, but still speaking to them.

"You seem to think he is the bane of the world, but let me tell you, he is not. You sound as you fear him, and my guess is that he uses smarts, not power, to get what he wants. That's another thing, he has wants, that is very unlike the demons I know. The followers of Lucifer that I faced did not know fear, pain, or death. They slaughtered most of my people, billions in a matter of months, and it took the greatest of our weapons just to contain them. I now know for a fact that you have never seen what I have seen, and be glad for it. As for myself, I was made to fight the creatures of Hell, to send them back from whence they came. I was a soldier trained to drive the demons back into the depths of hell, and the memories of what happened back then are clear to me even to this day." Galahad sounded sad at those words.

"Wow. So humanity came from somewhere else?" Kagome then said.

"You could say that." Galahad replied. By this time, they had emerged from the facility and were now at the entrance to the cave. The others got together their belongings and started to exit. Even though the first rays of dawn were just showing, Galahad squinted and rubbed his eyes for a few moments while his eyes adjusted to the outside. Miroku then came up to Galahad.

"You said the demons you faced know no fear of death?" He then asked.

"That is correct."

"The demon, or oni in this case, we fought the day before was strangely like that. It attacked us without concern for it's own safety, and we had a very hard time taking it down. It had attacked a village for no particular reason and brutally slaughtered half the villagers."

"Describe it."

"It looked like a man, but wasn't. It had goat legs, and a saber-toothed face with horns." InuYasha then said.

"Skin tone?" Galahad then asked.

"Reddish pink. It was unlike anything I've ever seen before." Sango then said.

"What about an aura around it's hands? Did have one of those and what was it's color?"

"Yeah, it did have one of those. It was red in color. I shot it in the back with one of my purifying arrows and that barely even slowed it down. Only InuYasha's Kaze no Kizu dropped it. And even then, it just dissolved and didn't leave a body behind." Kagome then said.

"A Baron of Hell, higher ranking officer in their armies. You must take me to where you fought it. I need to see if it has been truly destroyed." Galahad answered.


	2. Chapter 2

Futuristic Warrior from the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter II

They hadn't gone to the village right away. InuYasha and the others had told him they needed to sleep, that they hadn't gotten to last night. They rested until midday when Galahad woke them up, and they began to make their way back to the village they had fought the strange oni in the day before.

"Is this it?" Galahad said, pointing to the bare and blackened spot on the ground.

"That's where the oni fell." Miroku said. Galahad started toward it but Miroku grabbed his shoulder out of warning.

"I know what I'm doing." Galahad said, shaking off his arm and kneeling right in front of the spot on the ground. Blood seeped up from the ground and burst into flames. Galahad did not withdraw, but drew his sword. The blade to the gladius glowed brightly, even in the daylight. He stuck the sword into the ground and began to twist. A loud, high pitched scream came from the pool of flaming blood, and a talon of a hand came out of the puddle and grabbed onto the blade of the sword. The white light that radiated from the sword incinerated the hand, and the hand turned black and blew away like dust in a phantom wind. The blood evaporated.

"It is no more. It was not killed, only defeated." Galahad said, standing up. He sheathed his sword and looked over at the villagers, some of whom gave him looks like he was a hero, others like he was a heretic. "They do not accept me. It is in my interest that we leave before they try something." He said, not taking his eyes off of the villagers. They agreed with him and left for Kaede's village.

"Kagome, your clothes are different from the others. Explain that to me." Galahad then said as they walked along.

"Well, actually I'm a bit of a time traveler." she started. A look of disbelief crossed Galahad's face.

"How is that possible?" he then asked.

"Even we're not completely sure, but we believe it has something to do with the Shikon no Tama." She pulled out her little vial containing the few shards they had. "These are the shards we have. Close to the village we are going to now, there is a dry well called the Bone Eater's Well. Villagers throw the bones of dead demons in it to get rid of them. I'm actually from 500 years into the future, and my home is on the same grounds the same well sits on in that time. On my fifteenth birthday, I accidentally fell into it and came out in this time. I'm supposed to be the reincarnation of the miko who used to protect the jewel, and the jewel was in my body. I still have a hard time believing it. Anyway, we think I can time travel thanks to the jewel shards. InuYasha can go through the well to my time as well, though we haven't figured out yet why he can too. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kiara however can't travel through the well." Kagome explained.

"Is that so? What sort of things do you have in your time? Black powder firearms at least?" Galahad then asked.

"Oh, this land is totally different in my time. A great, sprawling city occupies the land in my time. In my time, the year is 2000 A.D. 31 years before that, in 1969 A.D., we landed a man on the moon and returned him safely back to Earth."

"The moon, you mean the moon of this planet? No further?"

"No further. We have sent unmanned satellites beyond the solar system, but man himself has not been past the moon of this planet yet. We are planning on a manned mission to Mars, the fourth planet in the solar system, but it's still in the planning stages."

"The fourth planet you say? And it's called Mars?" Galahad said, genuinely interested.

"Yes." Kagome replied.

"My, how much we have forgotten." Galahad said contentedly, smiling.

"Wait a minute, was Mars originally the home planet you spoke of?" Kagome then asked.

"Well, if things keep going on the track you speak of, then they'll come across some interesting surprises on Mars, if they find them." Galahad said. Kagome only shook her head.

"Just who are you really anyway?" InuYasha then asked.

"I am a soldier, just like I said, and my past is little more than training, the war I fought on what you now call Mars, and the little time I have spent on Earth awake." Galahad said.

"I'm guessing you're not going into details because you're afraid of the effect such details would have on us, right?" Miroku then asked.

"No, that is really almost everything. I never had a family, you see, so I have no feelings like that. I never had a childhood either, I was created, not born. So I was created, trained, equipped, and sent off to fight, which I do best. To tell you the truth, it's almost all I know. I didn't think you would be interested, because there is nothing there." Galahad revealed, rather emotionlessly. The others were absolutely astounded at that, and looked at him. The implications of what he had just said was almost beyond their comprehension.

"I hope we never, ever start doing things like that in my time. It's completely unethical, I think." Kagome then said.

"How can you not have a childhood? People just can't appear out of thin air." Sango then said.

"Sango, the basic technology that makes that kind of stuff possible now exists in my time, but its still in its infancy, and thank Kami there are lots of people who don't want to see that technology unleashed." Kagome then said to her friend, with a slightly sad look on her face.

"Understand that my people were in need of soldiers. They had not fought amongst themselves for a hundred years before the demons attacked. The common man gave his life while those of us, who could really bring down the demons, where brought into existence. I was made out of necessity, not out of want." Galahad said.

"Well, that makes me feel a little better." Kagome then said.

"Monk, you said you had a curse put on you." Galahad then continued.

"Yes. I do. It's a generational curse that Naraku placed on my grandfather 50 years ago." He stopped for a moment and looked off at some trees. Galahad watched as Miroku stuck out his right hand and unwrapped the prayer beads from it. He then opened the hand up and a swirling vortex formed in front of it that started to rip some of the trees out of the ground. Before they were uprooted and sent flying, Miroku closed the hand back up and re-wrapped the beads. "It's called a Kazaana. It gets a little bigger each year. The only way to remove it is to destroy Naraku. If we don't destroy him, the hole will just keep getting bigger and bigger and more powerful until it eventually overcomes the prayer beads and sucks me into it. Both my father and grandfather died from their own Kazaanas devouring them." Miroku then explained.

"Do you have any estimation as to how much longer you have to live?" Galahad asked.

"I really don't have any idea. I can gradually feel it get stronger and stronger as the months pass, but I don't know how much stronger it has to get before it breaks the prayer beads. For all I know, these beads could break either tomorrow or ten years down the road." Miroku answered, looking thoughtfully at his hand and the beads.

"Then you need to focus your efforts and destroy this Naraku."

"We've ran into him a few times, but the damn bastard's the biggest coward I've ever seen. He's always escaped us every time because he always planned ahead and had an escape route of some kind whenever we've faced him. I nearly killed him not that long ago, but again he escaped, but this time he escaped in such a way that we can't even find him. It's like he completely disappeared off the face of the planet, but the existence of Miroku's Kazaana is the only proof we need to know he's still alive. We just can't find him." InuYasha then said angrily.

"Hey what about me?" Shippo then asked.

"How could I forget the purest and most honest one of us all?" Galahad said, stealthily exaggerated.

"Yeah, that's right!" Shippo then said. InuYasha started to growl, but a look that could kill from Kagome stopped him real quick. Shippo then continued. "I'm an orphan. My parents were killed by a demon pair called the Thunder Brothers. InuYasha and Kagome found me and helped me avenge their deaths. I'm staying close to them until I can fend for myself. I'm not as powerful as the others, but my illusory magic has gotten me out of some tight spots a few times."

"Well you and I have some common ground to stand upon, you lost your parents, I have none, it damages and makes us much stronger at the same time. And what about you, fellow demon slayer?" Galahad asked, looking back at Sango.

"I was from an entire village full of slayers like me. It was the main profession of the village. We'd kill demons and use their bones to make powerful weapons. That's what my boomerang is made out of, demon bone. I say 'was from' because Naraku put into motion a conniving plan to get me and the other powerful slayers away from the village so he could ravage it. Meanwhile, he deceived me and the others. He possessed my little brother Kohaku and forced him to kill my father and the rest of the powerful slayers. He tried to kill me too, but somehow, I survived. Naraku then tried to make me believe it was InuYasha that destroyed my village to try and get me to kill him. Later on, he revived my brother using a Shikon shard, and now my brother is simply his servant. He doesn't remember me, or who he even is. I am now the last of my kind, as far as I know." Sango tried to fight back tears as she spoke.

"You are grieved greatly because your brother is now possessed, and you cannot bring yourself to strike him down. I can expect that from a normal human. Me and my battle brothers were trained to execute one another if we became possessed, even though we grew up together." Galahad then said with some concern in his voice. "I suggest that you somehow accept what has happened and move on. If you cannot, find a way to ease the pain."

"I can't strike him down not only because I can't find the courage, but also because it would make Naraku's day for me to do it too. I will not be party to his manipulations again." Sango then responded.

"Look at it from your brother's perspective. He is doing evil things and is unable to stop himself. Even though it may make your enemy happy, striking him down now will lay your brothers' soul to rest, possibly even saving it from damnation." Galahad replied. Sango just sighed heavily at that.

Soon afterward they entered the outskirts of the village where it all started, and made their way to Kaede's hut. The villagers looked suspiciously at Galahad, but didn't say anything since he was accompanied by the familiar motley crew they knew so well. Kaede was just returning to her hut when she spotted them. A look of confusion crossed her features when she saw Galahad.

"Who is this stranger ye have with ye?" Kaede asked them as they approached.

"It's a long story old woman. Don't worry though, he won't bite." InuYasha then said.

"I am Galahad, a soldier of Yahweh." Galahad said, giving a formal bow to Kaede. "Though I take the look of what you call a demon, I am human. I have awakened from cryogenic slumber to protect humanity from its enemies."

"Cryogenic slumber? Kagome, what does he mean by that?" Kaede asked.

"I will answer that question, my Lady. I have been in slumber for over six thousand years, and I have been recently awakened." Galahad answered.

"Six thousand years? How could a man live for so long?" Kaede sounded confused.

"I was actually frozen, held in stasis until they found me. That is how."

"Well if ye say ye are here to benefit humanity, then ye are our ally," Kaede said, walking toward her hut. "Come inside, we have much to talk about." They walked into Kaede's hut and sat down. There Galahad revealed his story about being created and fighting the spawn of Hell. The group also told about how they had found him and what he could do. After awhile InuYasha lost interest and went outside.

"How do ye possess such strength, Galahad?" Kaede asked.

"My genetic engineering made me so. In your terms I have much more strength than a common man. My mind has been advanced, and I think at a higher level, also through the process of genetic engineering." Galahad answered, sipping on a cup of sake.

"Genetic engineering? You didn't tell us that!" Kagome said.

"You did not ask, and Lady Kaede did. I also figured that if you saw me fling InuYasha across a fifty foot room, you would figure it out." Galahad answered.

"Enlighten me. What is genetic engineering?" Kaede asked.

"It is where they take the genes in our bodies and modify them. They basically flip switches in what makes us what we are. We are just starting to figure out how to do it in my time." Kagome said.

"Another thing I'd like to know is why ye look different than the rest of us here, is it too genetic engineering?" Kaede asked.

"I am not from this land, and where I lived before everyone looked like me. But my white hair is not natural, it is a flaw in what I am." Galahad said. "Now I must go and meditate." Galahad then stood up and left. As he walked outside, InuYasha stood there, watching him.

"I still need to repay you for what you did back in the cave." InuYasha said, popping his knuckles.

"I attacked you at first because of instinct and training. It will not happen again. Step aside, I must meditate." Galahad said.

"I still owe you, and I don't leave debts." InuYasha said, snarling.

"You seem stupid. At first I was off balance from cold sleep and now you wish to fight me while I am fully conscious? So be it." Galahad drew his white bladed gladius and InuYasha drew Tetsusaiga.

"I will enjoy this." InuYasha said. Galahad put on his helmet and took a fighting stance. "Die!" InuYasha shouted as he leapt into the air, holding Tetsusaiga to do a downward slash. InuYasha swung at Galahad, who nimbly deflected the massive blow into the ground next to his foot. InuYasha was in the process of pulling the blade out of the ground when he felt an uppercut to the jaw. InuYasha was flung into the air, and landed a short ways away from Galahad. InuYasha snarled and charged again, rearing back with the Tetsusaiga. Kagome appeared in the doorway to Kaede's hut.

"Osuwari!" Kagome shouted. InuYasha slammed into the ground, the Tetsusaiga falling from his hands.

"What in the hell was that for? I could have had him!" InuYasha said from his place on the ground.

As they argued, Galahad turned and walked away, taking off his helmet and sheathing his sword. He walked about the village, looking for a spot to meditate. He picked out a spot, a large hill that overlooked the village. But before heading there he went back to Kaede's house and took off his armor. Wearing only his shorts, his gladius, the Soul Cube, and the plasma rifle strapped to his back, Galahad started up the hill.

Upon reaching the summit of the large hill, he looked down, scanning the view of the entire village. He sat down and took the plasma rifle off his back. He laid it on his lap, stripped it, and began to clean it. After cleaning and reassembling the weapon, he set it aside and pulled his gladius back out. He pulled a small laser torch out of his pocket and started running the beam over the edge of the blade, sharpening it. It took him longer to sharpen the sword than it took him to clean the plasma rife, the blade had been used a little over twenty minutes ago. After sharpening it for a while, he turned the laser off and picked up a rock off the ground. Holding the rock in his hand, he smoothly cut it in two with the sword. Dropping the chunks of rock, he sheathed the sword and set the Soul Cube before him. Now it was time to meditate.

After arguing with InuYasha, Kagome went back inside Kaede's hut to get her books. Sango and Miroku had went off to gather information about jewel shards, Shippo leaving with them to keep Miroku safe from Sango's wrath his wandering hands would bring. Kagome had to get back to her time, that test was getting closer, and she still hadn't prepared a bit. Gathering all her gear, she set out for the well, hoping that she could cram enough to pass the test. As she walked, she continued to think about Galahad, and what he had said.

_"I was created to fight the spawn of Hell if they were to attack again." _Galahad's voice echoed in her mind. What confused her is that he had not said a thing about daily life, or about the government of his civilization, or even its name. _'What does he have to hide? Almost nothing remains of his time, besides himself. Is it fear of what we will say? I can't understand this guy's motives.' _Kagome thought as she crested a hill. To her surprise, she saw Galahad sitting there cross legged, without his armor on, chanting in Latin. His Soul Cube was sitting before him, the four wings unfolded out of its back.

"What are you doing up here?" She asked, rather tentatively.

"Praying, now. I was meditating, but now I am finished with that. Why are you up here?" He asked, not moving from his stance, his eyes still closed.

"I'm heading back to my time, I have a test to study for."

"Oh really? What subject?" Galahad had still not moved.

"Geometry, and I know I am unprepared." Kagome said.

"Geometry. Fifteen and your learning geometry _now_? My people learned that while still in childhood. Tell me what are you working on, I am sure I can help you." Galahad said, finally opening his eyes.

"Really!" Kagome asked, ecstatic.

"Yes." He said, turning his head to look at her.

"Good! I'm working on the surface area to spheres." She said, sitting down next to him. He continued watch her with his piercing stare as she told him the problems and formulas she didn't understand. He was so odd looking, with those blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. He probably knew a lot more about her than she would wish, by the way he looked at her. But after every question, he knew the answer, even without using a calculator. As they worked, her eyes wandered over to the Soul Cube standing before them. Galahad wasn't watching anymore, he was looking out into the setting sun, his pale skin seeming to glow softly.

"Galahad?" She asked.

"Yes?" He answered.

"Who is that, the figurine that is the Soul Cube?" Kagome asked.

"It represents the single greatest warrior of Yahweh, the Archangel Michael. He led the angels of Heaven in the fight that it took to get Lucifer out of Heaven. Why do you ask?" He said.

"Just wondering." She said. There was a short pause. "Galahad, how come you never told us about your civilization? You got the point across that it was powerful, and technologically advanced, but not much else."

"I don't really know that much. I was kept isolated from them during my training, then I was sent straight off into battle. During the time the technology of the Soul Cube was being researched, we were fighting a losing battle, having to constantly retreat across the surface of Mars. Before then, we had no holy weapons. We were relying only on technology to bring them down." Galahad then gestured to his strange rifle. "Then Yahweh gave us a boon and placed a great blessing on our close combat weapons and directed us to use them. He said that they would now be much more effective. A couple months later the Soul Cube technology was perfected and immediately incorporated into our armies. We immediately saw a change. Demons 150 ft. tall and greater were now being brought down with minimal casualties. The tide began to turn. We began pushing them back to the demonic portals they had come from. Once we reached them, we found that they were impossible to destroy from this dimension. An elite group was selected to enter them to destroy them on the other side. I was one of them. I will not describe what happened next. It was beyond reason. But I will say that we decimated their leadership and destroyed the portals. How we got back was pure luck. We had to fight our way back up from the depths, but their unification had been lost, making things easier. The lucky part was that we didn't come across Lucifer. Once we returned to the surface, we finally saw what the invasion had truly done. Mars was wasted, the ecosystem ruined. Within a few years, the atmosphere would become inhospitable. We came here, to Terra. Once here, we rebuilt our civilization, and not long after, we started fighting amongst ourselves, our unity gone. Me and the other warriors were frozen so we couldn't be used as weapons. We were only to be awakened if another demonic incursion had come. From what I've now seen, it seems my civilization destroyed itself." Galahad then got up and started down the hill without saying another word.

'_He's all alone in the world now, just like the others. Maybe he could join us in hunting Naraku down and gathering the shards?'_ Kagome thought. She then shook her head. _Get a grip girl. You haven't got time to dwell on that. You've got a test in two days and you haven't finished cramming. Get going!'_

With that, Kagome then ran into the forest to the well, and jumped in.


	3. Chapter 3

Futuristic Warrior From the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter III

_Authors' Notes:_

_HUD - Heads Up Display. Galahad's helmet visor shows his weapon status, health, etc._

"Mama, I'm home!" Kagome yelled as she opened the door to her house and came in.

"Your back sis!" Souta said excitedly as he ran up and hugged her.

"Hello Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi said warmly as she came from the kitchen and hugged her daughter.

"What happened this time?" Souta then asked eagerly.

"Well, running into this strange warrior was the highlight of it. He's wasn't evil, just really, really strange." Kagome then replied.

"Ooh! Was he a samurai?" Souta then asked.

"No, he wasn't one of those. He was the strangest looking warrior, not to mention person, I've ever seen. I'll tell you all more about it later. Right now I need to get to studying!" Kagome then raced up the stairs to her room.

She hadn't been studying long however, when she heard a familiar thump outside her window.

"InuYasha, what are you doing here? You know I can't come back right away." Kagome asked unenthusiastically without looking up as he opened the window and came inside.

"Keh! With Sango, Miroku, and Shippo gone I have nothing to do except maybe try to fight with the metal-clad warrior, and I know you won't let me to do that." InuYasha said gruffly.

"His name is Galahad, and you know absolutely nothing about him. Besides, you could've gone with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo." Kagome then replied.

"And leave you to find us on your own when you return? Woman, what's the matter with you? Don't you remember Muso?" InuYasha reminded her. Muso had been another incarnation of Naraku. He'd attacked while Kagome had been gone. When Kagome had returned and found them, Muso had gone after her. InuYasha continued. "Besides, there's danger on this side of the well too." Kagome rolled her eyes at that.

"Of course I know that. You don't have to remind me a thousand times. Now let me get back to studying, or I'll 'sit' you. Go play video games with Souta or something." she then said as she turned back to her Geometry book, the 'mysterious book of spells' as InuYasha called it.

"Feh." InuYasha said as he got up and sauntered out. Descending the stairs, he started looking for Souta when he passed a table with a telephone on it.

RRRRIIIINNNGGG! The telephone rang, and InuYasha jumped from the assault on his hearing.

"Ouch! What the hell was that?" he then said, flattening his ears to his head. He then heard the ringing again, and this time knew it was coming from the strange contraption Kagome and her family called a telephone. His curiosity then got the better of him. He'd seen how Kagome one time picked up part of it after it ringed and started speaking into that part of it. He reached down and picked up the receiver, holding it the same way he'd seen Kagome hold it. "Hello?" he then asked.

"Hello? Kagome? Are you there?" Ayumi's voice squawked from the other end of the receiver. InuYasha was dumbfounded.

"S-s-she's busy at the moment. Uhh, hold on a second." InuYasha stumbled out. He then dropped the receiver to the floor and raced back up the stairs. "Kagome! Somebody's on the teellleefffone? That's what it's called ain't it?" InuYasha yelled into the door.

"Thanks InuYasha." he heard from the other side. Kagome then opened the door, went down the stairs and picked up the phone. InuYasha meanwhile, opened the door to Souta's room and saw him sitting on the floor in front of one of those 'moving picture boxes' and holding some funny looking rock with sticks poking out of it. A string seemed to run from the rock to another strange rock on the floor. Souta also was wearing a strange set of headgear that InuYasha could easily hear some very weird music coming from. InuYasha walked up and bent down to better hear the sounds coming from the headgear. Souta was moving a stick on the rock, pressing spots on it, and watching intently what was happening in the moving picture box.

"Oi kid. What are you doing?" InuYasha then asked. Souta hit a button on the rock, and the movement on the box stopped. He then took off the headgear and looked up.

"Oh, InuYasha! I've been wanting to show you my Play Station 2! Just sit down here and I'll show you how it works!" Souta then said happily. InuYasha then sat down nervously.

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Galahad finished eating, tearing right through it without a word. He sat the dishes aside and muttered a quiet prayer in thanks. Kaede looked at him oddly when he said the words of his tongue.

"Ye speak more than one tongue?" Kaede asked.

"Yes elder, I speak four." Galahad replied.

"Ye are quite an interesting foreigner, even though ye are of a heritage I have never seen. What art ye called again?"

"I am a albino Caucasian." Galahad said, sipping on a cup of tea. He suddenly set the cup down and stood up. "I sense evil drawing near." He said. Galahad went over to his rifle and picked it up.

"I don't sense anything, what is it?" Kaede asked, standing up, getting her bow and arrows.

"They are what you call oni, and there is about fifteen of them." Galahad said, cocking the rifle. It began to hum and the barrel produced a soft blue light.

"What! Fifteen of them? I must rally the villagers!" Kaede said, but Galahad had already sprinted out the door into the night air.

'_They are searching for me. They want no one else. I must deal with this myself.' _Galahad thought as he ran to the eastern side of the village, where the feeling of evil came from. He stopped about twenty five yards from the edge of the forest, where red eyes glowed out of the darkness at him. The villagers amassed behind him as he put on his helmet. A loud bark sounded out, followed by snarls and snorts. _'Bull Demons.' _Suddenly a distinct roar ruptured the cacophony of the lesser demons, and silence followed _'And a Knight of Hell.'_ A green tinted version of a Baron of Hell stepped out of the forest, holding a sword of green flame.

"/Who is the one that is called Galahad/" It spoke in the black speech. The villagers began mumbling in fear.

"Villagers, you have no part in this, leave now, and spare yourselves." Galahad said to back to the villagers. He then addressed the Knight. "/I am the one called Galahad. It is I you seek/" Galahad said in black speech. The demon Knight bared his teeth, showing his incisors and four inch canines.

"/He is the one! Bring him down/" The Knight shouted, pointing his sword at Galahad. Galahad quickly sheathed his sword and pulled his plasma rifle off his back. Fourteen pinkish, horned demons burst out of the forest and began charging at Galahad. The villagers listened and fled from the scene. The demons were hunchbacked, with a large head full of large teeth, and large claws on the paws and hooves. They stood upright on two legs and ran at a blundering lope.

BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM! The area lit up in blue light as five shots flew out of Galahad's plasma rifle, the sun-bright blue bolts ripping through the flesh of the lead demon. It collapsed in a pool of blood as the others tromped over its corpse. Galahad began running backwards, letting loose with his plasma gun. The villagers were screaming and holding their ears at the thunder-like blasts of the gun. Galahad played cat and mouse with the Bull Demons most of the way across the village before the last fell to his weapon. Steaming from the amount of heat it was producing, Galahad swung the instrument of death back over his shoulder and redrew his sword. The demon Knight was in no hurry, he was simply walking toward him, the ground setting afire at his feet. The villagers had forgotten the fighting and now were trying to put out the fire that was raging around a few huts.

"/Now that your plasma gun has been subdued, we can begin./" The Knight said. Galahad simply shrugged and flew at the Knight, his blade a blur in the air. The air crackled as light met darkness in the form of swords. The Knight parried the blows Galahad sent, his skill with a blade nearly matching Galahad's. With sudden force, Galahad knocked the blade of flame out of the demon's hand, the burning magic landing on the ground behind him. The demon immediately responded with a swing of full force, his demonic strength punch sending Galahad flying through the wall of a hut. Galahad no longer saw a HUD, his helmet had been knocked completely off. Wiping the blood from his temple, he got to his feet and ran back out of the hole he had made. The demon had picked his sword up again, and was taunting Galahad.

"/Ha ha ha. Without your plasma gun, you don't stand much of a chance against me. Those underlings were a good diversion for that weapon./" The Knight said. Galahad grinned. The Knight gave him a strange look.

"/You must not remember what I can do. I must remind you/" With one sweeping motion, Galahad pulled the now charged Soul Cube off his belt and flung at it at the oni. The wings on the figure unfolded and flew into the oni's chest. There was a bright flash, as bright as an atomic explosion. The demon didn't even have time to scream before he was little more than a puddle of evaporating blood on the ground. The Soul Cube continued flying, returning to Galahad's hand, and he attached it to his belt.

The villagers looked at Galahad, as he stood there catching his breath. His temple was still bleeding, and his armor was blackened in spots from running through fire. He walked back in the hut he had flown into and retrieved his helmet. He now saw that some of the villagers had been killed by the Bull Demons during their rampage. The corpses of the Bull Demon oni were turning to ash and evaporating into nothing, the spirits nothing more. Parts of the village were still ablaze, the villagers still putting them out. Galahad went back into Kaede's hut to remove his armor, it was difficult to put out fires when your armor heated up like an oven.

_0 SceneChange 0_

"Game Over again, I win! WOOT!" Souta shouted.

"That's it. I've had enough." InuYasha said as he dropped the video game controller. Souta had been handing his ass to him in a fighting game every time for over two hours now.

"I've got a few more games. Don't you want to try them?" Souta then asked.

"No. They'll all be just as hard as this one! Besides, looking at the box for so long is making my head hurt." He then went out and opened the door to Kagome's room. Kagome jumped up from her desk at the sound of the door opening and quickly looked in the direction of it.

"InuYasha! How rude! Didn't you ever hear of knocking!" She yelled at him.

"Feh! We don't have 'doors' on the other side of the well! Are you done studying?" he then asked gruffly.

"No. Don't you remember I'm staying until after the test. I'm going to be up all night cramming anyway."

"Damn. I can't stand to be here that long. I'll be waiting in Goshinboku on the other side then. Head straight to the well house after your 'test' is over." He then said as he opened the window and jumped out.

'_Hmph. For him telling me to not even say goodbye to my family before coming back, I'm not heading back until nightfall then when I do have to come.'_ Kagome thought as she went back to studying.

InuYasha lumbered over to the well house and lazily jumped in. _'No use being in any hurry. I got nothing to do until she or the others return.'_ he thought as the time slip accepted him. When he jumped out on the other side, the strong odor of smoke stopped him. In a split second he had determined the direction and his thoughts immediately went dark as he then took off as fast as he could toward the village, bounding from treetop to treetop.

The sight that greeted him when he arrived horrified him. Several huts were aflame, with villagers running with buckets of water desperately trying to put out the fires. InuYasha saw the strange warrior, Galahad, without his armor amongst them, assisting. InuYasha dashed toward Kaede's hut, not finding the old miko there. He grabbed a spare bucket from inside and joined in the firefighting as well. He noticed Kaede was directing the villagers. He filled up his bucket from the nearby ponds and started running a loop from the ponds to one hut after another, heaving the water on the fly as he passed them. After about an hour and a half of fighting the fires, they were finally all out. About half of the huts had been badly damaged, but fortunately none had completely burned to the ground. Returning to the old miko's hut with her and Galahad, InuYasha plopped down against the wall.

"Will somebody now tell me what the hell happened while I was gone?" he then asked.

"Some oni came for me." Galahad answered.

"Damn it! I shouldn't have followed Kagome through the well then! I missed a rumble!" InuYasha then said, growling and clenching his fists.

"Oh don't worry. None of them had any of those shards you all are looking for. They only ravaged the village and tried to kill me." Galahad said, closing his eyes and putting a hand to the cut above his right eyebrow.

"Galahad, ye must truly be some kind of Kami to have such spells as those ye used." Kaede said in bewilderment as she thought back to the battle.

"No, I'm not what you call a Kami, I am simply a servant of who you call Kami-sama." Kaede's single eye opened wide at that.

"Uh, what exactly happened?" InuYasha said in a confused voice. Kaede then proceeded to explain in detail how the battle went. She was interrupted when a villager walked in, followed by his daughter.

"Thank you, kind sir for rescuing my daughter. To give you my thanks, I offer you her hand in marriage." He then said with a deep bow to Galahad. Galahad walked up to the girl and looked down at her. She looked up at him with wide rimmed eyes, telling him that she was ready to drop to her knees and worship him at any moment. He knelt in front of her and looked her in the face.

"I thank you for the offer, but I must decline." He then stood up and looked at her father. "Find her someone who would be a better husband than I. I am a soldier of Yahweh, nothing more. It is my choice to live and die alone." He then turned around and sat down.

The villager was agape and speechless. His daughter was one of the most beautiful in the village, having been the object of the amorous monk's affections a lot. He simply motioned for his daughter to follow as he walked out of the hut. His daughter took one last look at Galahad, then left pouting, then breaking out into sobs after they were out of the hut.

"Well, it's good to see the women of this village won't have to worry 'bout _you_ fondling them." InuYasha said with a smug grin. Galahad gave him a razor sharp look, and shook his head. InuYasha continued. "Still, even if you did waste all the oni and didn't need my help, I still would've liked to have been here to see you wield that magic stick Kaede was talking about."

"Oh, the plasma rifle? On the morrow I shall let you try it out. When will Kagome and the others be back?" Galahad then asked.

"Kagome won't be back till dusk tomorrow. The others should be back by noon. If they aren't, we're both going after 'em." InuYasha then said.

"That depends on whether I wish to accompany you or not. You may order the others around, but you shall not and _will_ not order _me_ around." Galahad then said with an edge in his tone.

"Feh!" InuYasha then said as he got up and walked out of the hut. After hearing of Kaede's story of the battle, InuYasha had finally realized it was not a good idea to anger the holy warrior. Galahad and Kaede then heard a thump on the roof as InuYasha lept up there.

"Interesting. I've seen few do that in my lifetime, offer their daughter's hand in marriage to a complete stranger like that, but what really surprises me is that ye declined. Ye really upset her ye know. Explain ye reasoning behind it." Kaede then said, rubbing her chin.

"Well, when she really got to know me, I don't think she'd like what she thought of me, and also the fact I'm probably going to get attacked again and again over the next few days or weeks wouldn't sit well with her or her father either." Galahad answered. He was halfway through the last word when InuYasha came back in through the doorway.

"Did you just say that what happened tonight is probably going to happen again?" He asked, giving Galahad a hard stare.

"Well, I am a solider of Yahweh - Kami-sama - and they are the forces of Hell. We are more than just sworn enemies and they know that I have awakened. What do you think?" Galahad answered.

"You know what? Now that I think about it, I'm starting to think that going into that damn cave to escape that storm wasn't such a good idea." InuYasha said grumpily.

"I would have awakened sooner or later anyway. And it wasn't you who awakened me. It was a power surge."

"Wait a minute? Are you talking about that lightning that arced across your column before it busted?" InuYasha then asked.

"It's called a cryogenic tank, and yes it was. You all just happened to be there at the right time to see it happen." Galahad explained. "Besides, it will be a few days before they notice their entourage didn't return."

InuYasha then "feh'd" and left the hut again.


	4. Chapter 4

Futuristic Warrior From the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter IV

_Authors' Notes:_

_Dante - A fictional angel of Hell._

InuYasha looked at the strange plasma rifle that Galahad had handed to him with a confused look. They were deep in InuYasha's Forest, not far from the Bone Eater's Well. Galahad was again out of his armor, wearing only his pair of black shorts and his sword.

"This is the _strangest_ looking magic stick I've ever seen. What do I do with it?" InuYasha then asked.

"Put your hand on this grip and point toward what you want to shoot at, and then pull this right here." Galahad showed him. "But be sure to-"

THOOM! A plasma bolt shot seared out across the opening, making a tree explode. The sound hit InuYasha's hearing like a wall of bricks and nearly took his head off, the kick of the weapon nearly knocking it from his hands. InuYasha then let go of the gun and his hands shot up to hold his ears. Galahad moved in a flash to catch the weapon before it hit the ground and went off.

"What are you doing! Don't drop it! It might fire again!" Galahad said sternly. InuYasha didn't hear him. He was still temporarily deaf.

"Ohhh! My ears! My ears! Why didn't you tell me that damn thing was so fucking loud!" InuYasha was now on the ground rolling around in pain, hands still on his sore ears. Galahad looked down at the rifle and did something strange. He burst out laughing.

"Not so tough now, I see. Very well then. I take it you don't want to use this thing anymore." With that he burst into more peals of laughter as he decocked the rifle and powered it down. Fortunately, InuYasha's hearing hadn't returned yet so he didn't hear him. Just then, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo burst out through the trees, all riding on Kiara.

"InuYasha, Galahad, what happened? We heard what sounded like a boom of some sort. Are you two alright?" Miroku asked with a concerned look.

"Oh I'm fine." Galahad started, then pointed toward InuYasha, who was now sitting up and shaking his head vigorously. "He, on the other hand, seems a little incapacitated. I was showing him my plasma rifle." InuYasha now noticed the others, and his hearing had now started to return.

"Did you find out anything, or was it just a damn wild goose chase?" InuYasha then asked Miroku, getting back up.

"We actually did find a rumor. About half a day's travel to the northeast is a cluster of villages plagued by an unusual number of bears. They seem to be undead and strangely have some organization. The daimyo of the area thinks there may be a bear demon controlling them. Villagers have reported seeing a giant bear about 20 ft. tall attacking farmers in their fields and then dragging them off. We never did see the creature, but we did visit some of the alleged attack sites and the evidence is clear." Miroku said.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's get going!" InuYasha then said, cracking his knuckles. "Galahad, you coming along?" InuYasha then asked.

"No, I shall wait for Kagome to return, then we will join you." he replied.

"Fair enough. Come on guys, let's move out." InuYasha then said. He then bounded off in the direction Miroku had indicated, the others following on Kiara. Galahad watched them go. He turned and looked at the well, on the far side of the clearing.

"So Kagome leaves the future and comes here through here?" Galahad said to himself as he walked up to the edge and looked down. "I wonder…" He stepped up onto the well and dropped inside. He landed on the pile of bones with a soft crunch. _'No wonder its called Bone Eaters Well, its full of them. But nothing has happened. Kagome said she passes through with the help of her jewel, yet InuYasha can pass as well.' _Galahad looked up to see a wooden roof in the now dim light. _'Wait a minute, why is there a roof there now?' _He found the ladder that had been placed there and climbed out. Galahad was inside what appeared to be a wooden shack. He went to the door and opened it.

Outside was clearly looked to a be a temple grounds of some sort, and an old man stood off on one side trimming a bush. Galahad stepped out of the shack and into the courtyard. To his left was a immense city, not as the same as those he remembered, but city none the less. Galahad grinned. _'So, not only can that stone brained InuYasha can come here. Very interesting.' _He began walking across the courtyard, heading toward the old man.

"Dear elder, where my I find Kagome?" Galahad said. The old man nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped around to face Galahad, his jaw dropping when he saw him.

"Who are you? How do you know Kagome? You must be a foreigner!" He said, almost to fast to hear.

"I am Galahad. I came from the well. I just wanted to speak with her, and I am foreign." Galahad answered.

"You came from the well? How could someone who is not native to Japan, who shouldn't be here during the feudal era come out of the well? I thought only InuYasha could come out of the well!" Galahad could since the suspicion in his voice. He wished he had someone else to talk to.

"Father, who are you speaking to?" Mrs. Higurashi said to the old man, rounding a building. She stopped when she saw Galahad. "Who are you? Are you the one Kagome told us about last night?" She asked.

"I am not sure, I might be. My name is Galahad. I came here looking for Kagome. Can you tell me where I can find her?" Galahad felt as if he was getting nowhere.

"Kagome is at school right now, but you can come inside and wait for her. While you're at it you can get a shirt or jacket to put on. You look rather cold in those shorts with no shirt on." Mrs. Hugurashi said. Galahad looked himself over and reddened a little.

"Ah, err… I'm fine. But I don't mind coming inside at all. I'd like to see what things are like in this time." He said.

"Are you sure this is the man Kagome was talking about? He looks rather odd to me, like a demon!" the old man said, brandishing his clippers like a weapon.

"I am albino. Do you have a problem with that?" Galahad said, looking sharply at the old man. He shut up right then and continued trimming the bushes, muttering to himself.

"You're albino? I noticed that you are Caucasian, but I wasn't quite sure if you were like InuYasha or not." Mrs. Higurashi said, leading Galahad into the house.

Galahad found Kagome's house to be much more accommodating than the houses in the feudal era. Setting his weapons in a corner, they went over to a table and sat down. He and Mrs. Higurashi talked for a long time, Galahad only lightly hitting on his past, not wanting to overwhelm her, she seemed nice. She talked on and on about what Kagome and InuYasha had been doing when they came over, and what Kagome was doing in school.

"She isn't doing well? I could probably help her. I know math all the way up to astrophysics. Grammar is different, it changes too much over time." Galahad said, sipping on a funny tasting drink she had called a Coke. Her face lit up.

"You can help her? That's wonderful! You alone could boost her grades enormously!" she said, happy beyond content. Galahad reached up and scratched his head, a little embarrassed for what he had just said.

"I thank you for the kind words, Mrs. Higurashi, but let's not get too in depth. I still know things that haven't even been discovered. I might teach Kagome something that nobody else in the whole school could understand, that might be a problem." He said.

"It wouldn't matter, that would help Kagome a lot more than hurt her. Could you help Souta too? He does okay in school, but I bet you could make him into a genius!" She was still ecstatic.

"Souta? I could probably help him, but it depends on how he thinks of me. If he takes me in the same regard as that of InuYasha, there would be some conflict." Galahad said.

"You know who you remind me of?" She suddenly asked.

"Who? It can't be anyone I know." Galahad replied.

"That young man Hojo. You really seem to care for Kagome, and you respect her more. InuYasha at times seems to use her for her abilities, even though at times he can be nice. You're much more well mannered, and mature." Galahad knew he turned red at that.

"Well, uh, thank you. I guess it's my nature. Yahweh, err, Kami-sama made me that way. Now that I think about it, do you have a bathroom? The place I came from has no place to wash yourself. Everyone is unclean." Galahad asked.

"Oh sure. It's right over there." She pointed it out to him.

Galahad stepped into the bathroom and locked the door. After figuring out how to operate the hot and cold water, he ran himself a bath. As the water ran, he looked at himself in the mirror. _'This place is much better, but it isn't the same. I like it here. I can relate here more, but it still isn't the same. I am out of place, a foreigner, as that old man called me. And it also appears that Mrs. Higurashi is seeing me as a potential boyfriend for Kagome, which will not happen. I will be her tutor, and a friend, if you can call it that. Nobody has guessed how old I am, that I am twenty five. They think I am around seventeen, so they view me as an adolescent. I think I could stay here, but I said I would bring Kagome back to what they call the feudal era, which I will do.' _Galahad then stripped and got in the tub. The hot water burned a little bit, but it relaxed his muscles, giving him good rest. After cleaning himself and getting out of the tub, he put his black shorts back on and left the bathroom, wet and steaming.

"Mom, I'm home!" a little boy's voice called from downstairs. Galahad started for the stairs.

"Hi Mama." He heard Kagome say.

"Hey mom, what are these?" Souta said. Galahad went rigid with alertness, he jumped the rest of the stairs.

"Don't touch those! Those are…" Kagome stopped when she looked up to see the wet headed Galahad looking at her. "…Galahad's."

"Hi Kagome. Did you pass the test?" Galahad said. Souta was still staring at the weapons leaning against the wall.

"Yeah! I passed with a ninety! You really helped me a lot!" She said, her face lit up, then took a confused look. "But how did you get here?" She asked.

"I had a little look at the well, and it seems that InuYasha and yourself aren't the only ones who can come through." Galahad replied. Souta's face then lit up.

"You mean that you are the other guy they found frozen a few days ago?" Souta asked, exited.

"That's right, I was in cold sleep a long time before they came along." Galahad said.

"Galahad has agreed to tutor you two in your subjects. From what Kagome said I think it can help you a lot. Not to mention he's one of the nicest people I've met." Mrs. Higurashi then said. Galahad caught the wink that Mrs. Higurashi gave her daughter. He simply shook his head.

"Anyway, InuYasha told me to come get you when you returned from school." Galahad said, trying not to show his embarrassment.

"Hmph. For what he said yesterday I have decided to go after dinner." She said, crossing her arms.

"I don't mind. I'm in no hurry, but the place is a long distance away, so we might be up a while. We'll leave whenever you are ready." Galahad replied.

"Oh, good. That gives me time." Kagome started running upstairs, then stopped and looked Galahad over. "Did you just come out of the bath?" She asked. Galahad nodded. Kagome disappeared upstairs.

"So Galahad, you know more about modern stuff, right?" Souta asked.

"Where I came from, this would be considered medieval." Galahad replied. Souta grinned.

"Come on, I'll show you my room." And he led Galahad upstairs.

_0 SceneChange 0_

In the center of another Cryogenics facility in the feudal era, a figure in black armor stood looking at the device he had erected over the pedestal he had once been frozen in. It was dim inside the room, even though the lights had been turned on full. The man in black looked into the blood red gem that was seated on the table-like device, radiating rays of darkness. He then spoke to it in the black speech.

"/My lord, the Knight and his warriors have not returned. I presume that Galahad or some other force has destroyed them./" He said.

"/Very well then, you must get more sacrifices and drain their blood for the summoning circle. Take a whole village this time, I will send a brigade of ten Knights, led by one of my Barons. Galahad must not know of the gateway that you and I speak through, for he will try to destroy it./" The orb retched out a voice in black speech that seemed to make the walls shiver. If the man standing before the orb was still sane, he would die from the voice alone.

The figure in black was of the same height as Galahad, and of the same origin. His hair was coal black, his eyes a bright, glowing yellow. At his side was another gladius, just like Galahad's, but the blade was black and radiated darkness, not light. His Soul Cube was also tainted, the wings not feathery but bat-like and leathery, the figure no longer human.

"/Are you sure that will be enough? He is a veteran tribune, and with markings unmatched except by the holy angels themselves. Pardon me for saying, but I must admit that I think you are underestimating him. Why not call in a Bloodthirster, and finish this matter before he gains even more power/" The man in black asked.

"/You yourself are not sure of his power, and we are still testing the waters. Besides, you cannot summon a Bloodthirster yet, you lack the necromancing skills. You need many more sacrifices for that too, that or quite a few holy men. Trust the judgement of I, Dante. I know what I am talking about, he is only a human, like yourself./" The orb said.

"/Very well, I must gather what is needed for what you require./" The fallen holy warrior turned and left the orb, preparing to slaughter a large village of all its inhabitants. He stepped over the blood stain that marked the beginning of the large pentagram in the center of the room. The Summoning Circle.

_0 SceneChange 0_

"No, there haven't been any attacks since you left, but we heard the sounds of them last night, so they're still out there." The daimyo said.

"And they don't attack at night?" Miroku asked.

"No, they spend the night eating their catches. They took ten men yesterday, before you arrived. They may not have attacked today because they may not be finished with them. Please stay here and kill them when they attack again. We can't afford to lose any more farmers, or we won't have enough men to gather the harvest." The daimyo then pleaded.

"Fear not, these bear youkai will not be a problem when we're through with them. We have to keep your beautiful daughter safe too, the bears might just decide to come after her as well." Miroku replied. He then winced some when Sango pinched him real hard in the middle of the back. The group then left the small mansion, the sun just starting to dip below the horizon.

"Alright. Miroku, Sango, take me to some of the attack sites so I can get the scent of these bears." InuYasha then said. They led him out to a field to an area where some of the crops had been ruined, and there were some bloodstains on the ground. InuYasha caught the scent of humans, which he presumed to be the blood of the farmers, then caught a strong scent of undead bear. He dropped down on all fours and sniffed around, trying to get the direction. "The bastards left in that direction." He pointed into the nearby forest, and then growled. "Damn it! Where's Kagome? She should've gotten here by now."

"Well, we can't go after them without her here, so we might as well retire for the night." Miroku then said.

"Yes, I'm bushed from all the traveling we've done today." Sango then said.

"Knowing you InuYasha, you must have angered her somehow so that's she's taking her sweet time. Thanks a lot." Shippo said. WHACK! "Waaahh!" A big pump knot formed on Shippo's head from where InuYasha had bopped him.

"Feh. Come on. I guess there's no arguing with you pathetic humans. We'll wait till mid-morning then. If she's not here by then, we're going without her." InuYasha then said as they started to make their way back to the mansion.

_0 SceneChange 0_

Galahad set down the cleaned dinner plate, totally filled and satisfied, just as the others were starting to dig in. They all looked at him with slightly stupefied looks, then shrugged and continued eating. Souta started ripping his way through his, trying to catch up.

"Souta, mind your manners! You're not InuYasha. I let him eat that way only because of what he is, and he can't help himself. You can. Besides, you're going to make yourself sick." Mrs. Higurashi scolded.

"Kids these days. Don't want to take the time to enjoy a meal. When I was his age…" Grandpa then started on a tirade of the old days.

"Mama, I think you're too late." Kagome then said in a deflated voice, ignoring her Grandpa and shaking her head. Souta was already halfway through, and Kagome could already see that he was starting to look a little queasy. A minute or so later, Souta started rubbing his stomach.

"Ohh, my tummy. May I be excused?" Souta then asked, his face contorted.

"That's what you get for eating too fast. Go ahead, and if you start to feel like you need to throw up, get to the bathroom immediately." Mrs. Higurashi said, in the same tone and shaking her head the same way her daughter was. She sighed too.

"I think he was trying to be like me, but he couldn't do it. We were given ten minutes to eat during training, and it's just stuck with me. Now, I'd like to go outside and exercise some." Galahad said, standing up. He took his dishes and placed them in the sink, picked up his gladius, and started for the door.

"Wait a minute. Shouldn't you wait a little while before you start something so strenuous to let the food settle?" Mrs. Higurashi then asked.

"That's where you and I differ." Galahad finished, then stepping out the door. After he left, Mama then looked at her daughter and gave her a warm smile.

'_Oh no. More boy advice. Now what's on her mind?'_ Kagome thought.

"Dear, Galahad is much nicer than InuYasha. He reminds me a lot of Hojo, except he seems to be more sensitive and truthful. You two would look so good together." she finished.

"Mama, first, he's Caucasian. I'm not. Second, he's an albino. I'm not that too. And honestly, you don't know him anywhere near as well as I do, and even I don't know him that well." Kagome then said in annoyed voice.

"Wha-why are taking race into account? InuYasha's got white hair, claws, fangs, and doggy ears. Galahad seems to be more normal, even if he is albino." her mom then replied, defending Galahad.

"Galahad's been through a whole lot. Even more than InuYasha has. He's also got a lot on his mind at the moment. I think this sort of thing is the furthest thing from his mind at the moment." Kagome then said thoughtfully.

"Well, why don't you try to help him then? You seemed to have helped out InuYasha a whole lot with that. Galahad may just need that kind of help too."

'_Oh, Mama, please. You have no idea just how much he's hiding from you. And I don't think you want to know any of that either.'_ Kagome thought as she excused herself and went up to her room. She was surprised to find Souta in there, staring out her window.

"Souta! What are you doing in my room? Get out!" she said, getting ready to nail him with a pillow.

"But sis, I wanna watch Galahad. I can't see him from my window. See?" Souta then pointed out the window. Kagome walked up and peered outside.

Galahad stood, with just his shorts on again, in them middle of the Temple Grounds. His sword was stuck in the ground about fifteen yards away, glowing in the night air. Galahad made some kind of bowing motion and started somersaulting toward the sword! His flipping motions were almost to fast to follow, Kagome barely catching him picking up his sword halfway through. With the gracefulness of a bird, Galahad landed on his feet. He stared into the blade of his sword, then started practicing sword technique.

"Wow. I wonder if he will teach me that?" Souta thought aloud.

"Probably not. I don't even think you are able to. Now get OUT of my room!" Kagome said rather forcefully. Souta's head sank in defeat and he skulked from the room, slowly pulling the door shut behind him. Kagome then walked over to her desk and picked up the vial with the Shikon shards in it.

"I wonder what InuYasha and the others are up to right now? Oh well, it doesn't matter. I'm not going back tonight anyway. Now I need to find a place for Galahad to sleep, if he even sleeps. He can't just do like InuYasha and climb up into Goshinboku." she said, putting the vial back down and leaving it to go back downstairs.

Galahad just finished exercising and was headed for the door when Kagome appeared in the doorway.

"Galahad, I've got you a place to sleep. The couch in the living room is nice and comfortable. Come on inside, we need to rest for tomorrow." she said, stepping back inside.

"Thank you, Kagome. At least I am not stuck in Souta's room. He would try to keep me up all night with questions." Galahad came inside and closed the door. "By the way, about your mother." Kagome's face turned to shock. "It's not like I don't know what she thinks of me. You need to let it on easy that I am quite a bit older than you, at least eight or nine years. I may not look it, but I am around twenty five or six. Besides, I think you know I am not interested in something like that at all."

"Err.. Well I'll see what I can do. I told her you aren't interested, and it didn't even faze her. But we'll see." Kagome replied.

"Thank you, and good night." and then the white haired figure disappeared into the darkness of the living room. Kagome heard him drop onto the couch, and she then went upstairs herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Futuristic Warrior From the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter V

The fallen walked into the darkened summoning chamber, holding a urn made of bones, topped with a human skull. Setting the urn down, he went about and lit some candles, candles made out of dried blood, lighting the room in a reddish glow. He pulled the skull off the top of the urn, and looked inside. It was filled to the brim with the blood of human sacrifices, which he had gotten earlier. He shouted some words in black speech, and threw the urn straight up, and smashed it with his sword. Blood flew everywhere, covering him and most of the floor. Holding his sword upward, he continued to chant, ignoring the blood flowing into his mouth. The pentagram carved into the floor began to glow a soft red, and the blood on the floor formed rivulets and began to move on its own, seeping into the pentagram. The fallen's body began to dry off, the blood lifting off and entering the pentagram. Now the room was bright with a red glow. The fallen reached into his pocket and pulled out the stone that had been set upon a table. Dropping the stone before him, it landed with a heavy thump. Now the room was blindingly red, the walls moaning in beat to the fallen's chant. He then stepped out of the pentagram and continued to chant. His voice was risen by the sound of demonic voices, nearly drowning him out. There was a flash of darkness, and the pentagram's light began to fade.

"/It is done. Come forth./" The fallen said.

"/We are here. Blood will spill this day. Galahad shall fall./" A voice said in response.

_0 SceneChange 0_

Galahad easily jumped out of the well, then reached down pulled Kagome up and out.

"So Sango and Miroku found a lead, and InuYasha's gone on ahead with them?" Kagome asked as they started toward Kaede's village.

"Yes. InuYasha did not wish to wait around." Galahad replied, the sun's early light reflecting off of his white hair.

"Why does that not surprise me? How far off is the village they left for?" Kagome then asked.

"Half a day's travel with them riding on the feline creature."

"Its name is Kiara." Kagome corrected. They then entered the village, and Kagome did a double-take after first seeing some of the huts were still blackened and scorched. "Uh, did I miss something while I was gone?" she then asked.

"_They_ came." Galahad said.

"You mean the oni you fought so long ago? How many were there?" she asked.

"Fifteen to sixteen. The others weren't around, and I took care of it myself. It was I who they had come for anyway." They had reached Kaede's hut. The old miko wasn't there, she was elsewhere. Galahad picked up his armor and began to put it on.

"You fought that many of them by yourself? How? Even we as a group have never fought that many strong demons at once."

"I am specialized. My weapons are more effective on them than yours or the others'. They were made to destroy oni, not just monsters." he finished. Kagome started to pull her bike from behind the hut, but Galahad stopped her. "That will not be necessary." He then handed her his helmet. "Hold on to this, I can see better without it." He then just picked her up and put her on his shoulders. He was a little surprised when she didn't say anything, and looked up at her confusedly.

"I ride on InuYasha's back all the time. This is nothing new for me." she said. He nodded and they left the village with him running at a sprint. That was how they traveled for most of the morning, Galahad not showing the least bit of fatigue. This was the final proof Kagome needed to see he wasn't a normal human. As they approached the outskirts of the village and estate that was their destination, InuYasha came running up to them.

"Oi wench! There you are! Where have you been? You should have been here by yesterday evening!" he said angrily to Kagome.

"Since you demanded I come back without first saying goodbye to Mama and the others, _and_ without even getting ready, I decided to wait till this morning." she replied calmly and defiantly, standing her ground.

"Feh! If you'd come when I said you should, we probably would have already had this taken care of!" InuYasha retorted.

"Osuwari." Kagome replied. WHAM! InuYasha immediately faceplanted. Galahad simply grinned and walked past him into the village, ignoring the strange looks from the villagers. Kagome followed, holding her head up defiantly. They both met Sango, Miroku, and Shippo in the village center, and Miroku filled them in on what they had done so far.

"They haven't attacked today?" Kagome asked him.

"No. But the villagers are expecting them to. Yesterday was the only day they hadn't yet, and everybody thinks it was because they managed to take so many farmers the last time they did." Miroku replied. It was then that InuYasha re-joined them.

"The one that's got the jewel shard better show up when they do too. I'm tired of fucking waiting." he said, cracking his knuckles. Just as he finished speaking, a villager then ran up them.

"They're here! They're here! They're attacking the fields again! Save the farmers!" he shouted, jumping up and down hysterically. He then ran off and they followed him. As they were running, Galahad turned down an alleyway between two huts and stopped. He felt a familiar sense click on. The others didn't notice him however and continued toward the fields unabated.

When they reached the fields, they saw a group of five grizzly-sized undead bears each grab a farmer and start to head back into the forest.

"Look at them! There's so many of them!" Shippo said in a scared voice.

"_Sankon-tessou!"_ InuYasha yelled as he clawed up one and the farmer then fled to safety. Miroku broke another bear's back with his staff, and Sango cleanly cleaved one in two with her Hiraikotsu. Even Kagome got in on the action, nocking an arrow and completely disintegrating a fourth one. InuYasha took care of the last one when what appeared to be the leader then lumbered out of the forest.

The leader bear was huge, easily the size of a Kodiak and may have passed for one, except for the fact it had three eyes that glowed the familiar red, and unusually long claws.

"How dare you slaughter my vassals! Now you shall pay!" It roared. It reared up on its hind legs, and opened its mouth, and bone shards then began to shoot out of it! InuYasha grabbed Kagome and leapt to the side.

"_Kazaana!"_ Miroku yelled as he removed the prayer beads and opened his hand up toward the bear, sucking up all the shards it had shot out.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled as she then flung the bone boomerang at the bear as Miroku closed his hand back up. It was no use however, as the bear managed to swat it away. InuYasha meanwhile set Kagome down a safe distance away.

"Kagome, does it have a jewel shard?" he then asked her. Kagome looked at the bear for moment.

"Yes, it does. It's embedded in the middle of its back." she replied. InuYasha nodded then ran back towards the battle.

"Hey bear! Whatcha need all the farmers for? You're pretty repulsive, taking them just so you can have your daily snack!" InuYasha shouted at the bear.

"Pathetic half-breed! You will eat those words _and _your own guts!" it roared back and began to come at him. InuYasha ripped Tetsusaiga from its sheath and leaped around behind the bear. The bear's huge size now worked to its disadvantage as it was too slow in turning around before InuYasha slashed at its back, dislodging the jewel shard as blood sprayed everywhere. "AAAGGGHHH!" The bear roared in immense pain as it fell onto its stomach. InuYasha had severed its spinal cord and the bear now had no feeling in its legs or lower body.

"I got the cleanup. _Kazaana!_" Miroku said and then reopened his hand back up, sucking in the still thrashing bear. After he closed his hand back up, Kagome walked up and picked up the jewel shard, the malevolent aura disappearing from it as her miko powers purified it. As she put the shard in her vial with the others, they then heard a new sound, one Kagome hadn't ever heard before, but InuYasha and the others immediately recognized. Faint blasts from Galahad's plasma gun could be heard, then they were sharply cut off.

"What? Is there more of them?" Sango asked.

"Let's check it out, he sounds outnumbered." Miroku added. They ran back into the village to find Galahad fighting oni! There was about ten of them, all resembling the baron they had slain a few days ago. All but one was of a light skin tone, the apparent leader darker skinned. Each of them held swords constructed of green flame, the leader an axe of red. They all surrounded Galahad, who somehow managed to parry the flurry of blows that rained down upon him.

'_Left is thrusting, behind is chopping.' _Galahad thought. He rolled forward, avoiding the thrust from the knight and an overhead chop from the baron. As he swung to his feet, he upwardly slashed a knight, his sword tearing through the flesh. _'Its getting harder to concentrate, I am wearing out from running over here and then fighting. Ahead swings, front and back right also swing.' _He blocked the swing from the front and bent his body to the side to avoid the other swings at his side. _'Sideways chop from behind,'_ Galahad jumped, clearing the swinging axe. _'Thrust from the right- no-'_ His thoughts were interrupted from a sword of flame piercing his lower left side, coming out of his chest.

"AAAGGGHH!" Galahad screamed, and swung backwards, catching the demon in the face. He lurched forward, and the blade was pulled free with a gush of blood. Galahad groaned and dropped to his knees. His helmet fell off his head and clattered to the ground, revealing blood running from his mouth.

"/See. No matter how mighty the servant may be, numbers shall always be his downfall. Now he will suffer for what he has done to our brothers/" Galahad heard a demon's voice. Immedaly afterward, a sharp kick to his injured side. Galahad grunted and rolled over, trying to get to his feet. A fist came down hard on his back, smashing him into the ground. Galahad went completely limp, his body now struggling to function. He started to reach for a vial at his waist but felt a hoof stomp down onto his hand. Not feeling the pain, Galahad looked up to see the face of the baron, his teeth bared.

"/Now you shall face your fate for interfering with the actions of Hell/" The baron said, rearing back with the axe to behead Galahad.

"Hiraikotsu!" Sango's boomerang slammed into the baron's chest, knocking it onto its back, and he thumped into the ground. Galahad immediately rolled away and sat upright, and began trying to wrench off his chest plate. Meanwhile, the knights looked over in the direction the strange weapon had come from.

"Six on one? No fair! He gets all the glory! That ain't happenin! I need some too!" InuYasha shouted as he charged one of the knights with Tetsusaiga drawn and ready. The knight raised his sword and they started trading blows. The other knights started getting in position to try and gang up on them, but Sango and Miroku joined in and Miroku swung his staff at the head of one while Sango followed suit with her boomerang at another. Kagome meanwhile saw the baron looking over at Galahad, readying what looked to be a fireball. She nocked an arrow and let fly. The arrow missed, but it did get the baron to start looking around. Kagome shot at the baron again, this time hitting the baron in the side, but it then immediately fell out, not really doing any damage. The baron then looked at her and grinned a mouthful of jagged teeth. He then spoke something in black speech and started striding toward her, his axe reforming in his hands.

Galahad saw his opening, and then dashed at the baron, holding his sword low like a lance. He barreled into the baron, the sword running the oni through in the side. The baron then let out a loud grunt. Before it could react, Galahad twisted the blade over to his back, and then jerked straight up, splitting the baron from the stomach to the top of the head. The oni then fell over and began to dissolve. Galahad's eyes then rolled back in his head and he began to grasp for something on his belt as he fell forward and collapsed.

InuYasha, Sango, and Miroku were having a real hard time with the knights. Sango and Miroku were getting some blows in, but they were hardly fazing the knights. InuYasha was having a little success, cleaving the sword arm off of his opponent. He then swung hard and decapitated the knight, but he had little chance to celebrate. A hand suddenly grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him face first into a raised hoof.

InuYasha was seeing stars almost immediately and was completely disoriented. He wrenched free of the grip and swung with his free hand at the face of the knight that had grabbed him. POW! The knight's head was jerked back and stunned for just a moment, long enough for him to jump away. He didn't come away unscathed, as his hand was now bleeding from being cut up some by the knight's teeth.

Miroku finally managed to stun his opponent for just a moment after swinging his staff like a baseball bat and connecting with the knight's head.

"InuYasha, Sango! Let's try and get them close together, that way so InuYasha can use the _Kaze no Kizu_ on them! It's probably the only chance we got!" Miroku then shouted.

"Got it!" Sango shouted back as she blocked another blow from her knight. She then swung for the knight's sword hand and connected, the knight grunting as the boomerang struck. She then jumped back closer to where Miroku was. InuYasha started retreating toward them too to get the knight he was battling to follow them.

The plan worked, when the knights were close enough, Miroku shouted "Now!" and they all jumped back a safe distance.

"_Kaze no Kizu!" _InuYasha shouted as he slammed the Tetsusaiga's blade against the ground. The attack shot toward the knights and hit all five of them. They roared in pain, and blood sprayed from the wounds inflicted on them, but they were not completely destroyed. InuYasha let loose the attack again, and this time they were finished. Just as with the baron they had destroyed days ago, the knights turned into just spots on the ground, meaning they had just been defeated, not killed.

Kagome was kneeling next to Galahad with her first aid kit, trying to bandage his wounds. She was trying to move an arm, but Galahad was grasping something, and holding his arm fast. Kagome then looked down at what it was he was grasping, and saw a syringe. He was gripping it with a death grip. Kagome then looked in amazement as Galahad somehow drew the syringe up, and plunged the thick steel needle into his chest. The liquid inside then was immediately sucked down through the needle. Galahad's body then went real rigid and he appeared then to go into a convulsive seizure.

"Oh no! He's going into shock!" Kagome said in a frantic voice and started to search frantically through her first aid kit, when she then noticed something that stopped her dead in her tracks. Miraculously, the wound Galahad received had now started to clot up and stop bleeding on both sides! He was still rigid for few moments, but then fell limp completely, his blue eyes staring dumbly into the sky. "No!" Kagome screamed. The others had now approached, and InuYasha smelled the salt as Kagome's eyes started to tear up. He knelt down and put an ear to Galahad's chest.

"Kagome, you can stop crying now. He's still alive. He's just out of it for the moment." InuYasha then said.

"Are you s-s-s-ure?" she struggled to say. She then put a forefinger to his throat and breathed a big sigh of relief as she felt a pulse, but it was weak. Miroku then put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"I think he's going to be alright, but we've got another problem." he stated, then gesturing to the dark spots on the ground.

"I can take care of that." InuYasha said. He reached down to pick up Galahad's sword. When he touched it however, it felt as if he had just grabbed a red hot branding iron! "Yeowch! Dammit! Crap!" he cursed. Miroku then shook his head and looked back at Kagome.

"Kagome, see if you can use his sword to purify the spots. I don't think it'll hurt you since you're a miko." he then said.

"Okay, I'll try." she replied. She reached over and grabbed it. She immediately felt a surge of holy power flow through her, and she felt as if she were glowing. The sword meanwhile, had begun to throb power in her hand. She walked over to the spots, and touched the tip of the sword to one. The spot vaporized as soon as the sword touched it. No demonic screams, no nothing, just a bright poof. The other spots were gone a few moments later in the same manner. The others' jaws almost hit the ground in amazement.

_0 SceneChange 0_

Galahad was laying in the corner, still unconscious, as the others were sitting with the daimyo and having dinner.

"Where did the foreigner come from? We've never seen such powerful magic." the daimyo asked.

"It's a very, very, long story, and hard to comprehend. Even we don't know him all that well, we do know him enough that he is trustworthy however." Miroku replied.

"And what about those strange oni? In my years as ruler I have seen oni before, but never any like that."

"I'm a demon slayer, and that's the second time I've ever encountered those kind of oni. They didn't start appearing until after we came across Galahad." Sango then said.

"Well, at least your fine daughter is safe. I'd be more than happy to protect her still tonight-" POW! Miroku was cut off by a right hook from Sango, knocking him over on his back. "My dear Sango, what did I do now?" he then asked, rubbing his face.

"Isn't it obvious monk!" Sango said in a very agitated voice.

"Is he always like that?" the daimyo then asked.

"Unfortunately yes." Sango then said. The daimyo then called one of his vassals over.

"Yes, milord?" he asked.

"Post a guard outside my daughter's room tonight. The guard is to kill the monk if he attempts to enter, and no one is to enter or leave. If she comes out for any reason, the guard accompanies her." he said sternly. Miroku sighed heavily at those words.

A thump behind them drew their attention. Galahad was sluggishly getting to his feet, his hands clutching his side. His eyes were glazed and bloodshot, and he looked as if he was drunken. He staggered over to them and carefully sat down.

"Galahad, you shouldn't be up! You could injure yourself!" Kagome gave him a stern yet caring look. He returned with a blank stare.

"I n-n-need… water. I am d-dehydrated." Galahad answered, his voice was slurred. Someone offered him a cup of liquid. Galahad took it and sipped it. His face wrenched in distaste and he crushed the clay cup in his hand. "I need water, not alcohol." Galahad said, dropping the remains of cup onto the floor. Kagome reached into her backpack and pulled out a water bottle. She handed it to Galahad, who ripped the cap off and sipped it to see if it was water, then chugged the continents. He set the empty bottle on the ground and laid back on the floor, looking out at the bewildered others.

"Hey, what gave you the idea that you could take on that many oni at once? You may have great demon slaying skills, but that was sheer suicide." InuYasha remarked.

"I was the only one there, you idiot! I wouldn't have if I had a choice in the matter." Galahad said.

"You could have let us know so we could have helped you earlier." Sango added.

"You were distracted with something else, so my gun didn't get your attention soon enough. Leave me in peace, I must recuperate in case they attack again." Galahad crawled back to where he was and covered back up. Miroku tried to say something, but Galahad dropped off to sleep before he could finish.

_0 SceneChange 0_

Kikyo had been traveling for several days now. Her soul-collectors had come to her a few days ago with news of a new dark aura, different from Naraku's, unlike any that had ever been encountered. She had immediately started off in the direction the soul-collectors had come. The past few days of traveling had started to take a toll on her, and she had sent a few soul-collectors off to find out if the aura was still present and to gather more souls for her. One returned to her, and after relinquishing the soul to her, it landed on her finger.

"I see. So the aura draws closer. I am heading the right way then." she said in her usual, sad and bored voice. She continued onward. The soul collectors were leading her toward another village, one she had not been to before. After another two hours, she was beginning to reach the village, dawn starting to break. She entered it, and found the dark aura wasn't in the village itself, but rather emanating from a hill overlooking it. She made her way to the hill and started up it. She was now not only feeling the dark aura, but also an overwhelming sense of pure evil as well, much worse than that of Naraku. She stopped and looked puzzled when she saw the source of the aura.

Standing on the summit of the hill, his back to her and overlooking the village, was the fallen one. He stood watching over the village with a cold, dark look on his expressionless face. Kikyo saw only pure darkness, hatred, and malice radiating from him. She didn't even have to guess at what his intentions were. At his waist, the tainted Soul Cube was throbbing, so full of souls that it seemed ready to burst at the seams. She heard the pained cries of many innocent souls from within it. Kikyo had seen enough. She pulled the bow off her back and nocked an arrow and took aim at him.

"Who are you, and why have you come here?" she demanded. The fallen one turned and looked at her. His eyes glowed like little yellow orbs inside of his head. He did not say a word, only took a battle-ready stance, right hand tightening on the hilt to his sword. Kikyo let her arrow fly at him. It just started to glow pink when in a blurry, zigzagging flash he was in front of her. His hand shot out and grasped her neck, and he picked her up. Her neck was burning from his touch, like his hand was acidic. She struggled, but his grip was like that of steel.

"/Give it up. You do not have the strength to stop me you undead wench! Leave the land of the living before Judgment Day comes/" he shouted in the black speech, Kikyo not understanding his words, but getting his point across of leaving him alone. He then let go of her and she collapsed to the ground, holding her neck where he had held her. Black marks were on her neck where he had touched her.

The fallen one then drew his sword, his double edged gladius that radiated rays of darkness, not light, and began to descend into the village. Dawn's light seemed to miss the village as he entered. Kikyo could only watch in sorrow as he methodicallycut down every last man, woman and child of the village, draining the blood from the corpses into a new bone urn constructed from the dead. She left midway through, unable to take anymore of the sight.


	6. Chapter 6

Futuristic Warrior From the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter VI

The day had started off pleasant and was continuing to be pleasant. Rin was singing and dancing through the flowers of the field as the group traveled. The sky was a perfect blue, not a cloud in sight, and the sun shone brightly.

Sesshomaru's mind however was not anywhere near these pleasant things at the moment. Deep down, he wished they were, but at the moment, matters more pressing were the focus of his attention, like finding out who had entered the borders of his lands without permission. He wasn't that concerned however. His vassals had known well that when a new kind of intruder appeared, they were to instead of killing them, report them to him so he could investigate the newcomers himself. They had told him that these intruders didn't seem all that powerful, just incredibly strange. That tidbit had been intriguing to him. He was going to take care of these trespassers more out of the curiosity of seeing them than anything else.

Behind him, he started to hear Rin's voice fade some.

"Rin, you must not fall behind. Get on Ah-Uh's back." Sesshomaru emotionlessly commanded, not sparing a glance back at her.

"Yes milord." Rin said, then climbing up onto the back of the two-headed dragon.

"Milord, why not let your soldiers take care of this? They said that they aren't very strong. To take care of them yourself is simply a waste of time and energy." Jaken then said. Sesshomaru stopped, turned, and then gave Jaken a cold stare that shut him up immediately.

"How many times have I told you not to question my motives?" Sesshomaru asked, resting his hand on Tokijin's hilt. Jaken's eyes went wide immediately.

"Forgive me milord! Please forgive me!" Jaken then said frantically, bowing several times rapidly. Sesshomaru took his hand from the cursed sword and let it drop back down to his side as he turned around and continued on. He hadn't gone ten feet however, when a dark, yet weak, aura hit his senses, and he stopped. "Milord? What is it?" Jaken then asked.

"Rin, stay here with Ah-Un. Jaken, keep watch." Sesshomaru then ordered as he conjured up his floating cloud and raced off into the nearby woods.

"Now where is he off to?" Jaken then asked with a grumble.

The way this aura felt told Sesshomaru he had found the intruders. It felt strangely different, but it wasn't strong enough yet for him to discern why. His senses worked like a built in compass, leading him directly to where the intruders were located. He approached a small clearing in the forest, and saw them through the bushes.

Five dark brownish, humanoid looking creatures and two of the Bull Demons were in the meadow, wandering around as if they were investigating the area. Their auras told Sesshomaru right away that they were oni, but they were a completely different kind of oni. Their auras seemed very dark and otherworldly.

_'This is not good. A darker force, darker than that of that pathetic half-breed Naraku, is being unleashed upon the land.'_ Sesshomaru thought grimly. He raised his hand up and conjured up his poison whip. Even though their auras were the darkest he'd ever encountered, he could also tell these oni were pathetically weak. Soiling Tokijin with their blood would not be worth the effort. He cracked the whip once in the air to get their attention and walked out into the meadow.

The oni stopped and turned in the direction of the sound and saw him. The brownish hominids let out a growl and started toward him, the Bull Demons just snorting and following suit. They didn't even make it ten feet when with just three quick lashes with the whip, they were all cut up into ribbons. They then screamed and entered their death throes, turning into the grass-bare spots on the ground marking their defeat, but not death.

Sesshomaru was confused. He could still sense their auras, but the monsters were no longer there. He was about to walk up and investigate the spots where they had fallen, when he suddenly felt Tenseiga pulse once.

"You wish to be drawn, Tenseiga?" he then asked. The sword pulsed again. Sesshomaru drew the revered heirloom and held it up to his face. Instead of glowing the normal blue, the sword was now glowing a dim white. "Interesting. What could this mean?" The sword pulsed yet again, and began to gently pull toward one of the bared spots on the ground where the oni had fallen. "A new use for you? Let's find out." Sesshomaru casually strode up to the closest spot and gently touched the Tenseiga to the spot. There was a loud screech and the spot began to shrink and dissolve, the grass re-growing immediately. Sesshomaru repeated the act on the other spots, until they were all gone. "Tenseiga, it unfortunately appears you are going to get a lot of use in this manner in the foreseeable future." Sesshomaru said as he resheathed the revered fang of his father. He then made his way back to Jaken and Rin.

"How many were there milord? I guess they weren't much trouble since you weren't gone long." Jaken said, bowing as he approached.

"Lord Sesshomaru, can we stop here for awhile so I can pick flowers?" Rin then asked.

"Rin, you and Ah-Un proceed back to the castle immediately and wait for my return. Jaken, you will accompany me." Sesshomaru ordered. The little girl looked confused, but nodded.

"Don't forget to come back Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin shouted back cheerfully as Ah-Un rose up into the air and flew off.

"Lord Sesshomaru, what's going on?" Jaken asked as he and Sesshomaru began to head east.

"Jaken, prepare yourself. The next few days and possibly weeks are going to be very trying." Sesshomaru answered his question.

_-_

Galahad woke up and looked around, seeing the first rays of dawn coming in through an open window. He was still in the daimyo's mansion, as well the others, as far as he could tell. He stretched some to work out the knots in his body. The wound had completely healed up, no scar even visible. He went outside to find himself a nice quiet spot to begin morning prayer. A little while later, he finished and went back into the mansion and saw the others were just getting to breakfast. He sat down and pulled out the laser tool he used to sharpen his sword and adjusted it. He then got out some metal shards and started using the tool and shards to patch the holes in his armor. The others saw this and started watching in bewilderment as he welded metal.

"Just what kind of a warlock are you?" the daimyo asked, his eyes almost popping out of his head.

"This is not witchcraft, mind you. It's metallurgy. I am simply repairing my armor, although I would rather have better materials, for it's not as strong now." Galahad then replied. InuYasha then looked at Kagome.

"Kagome, do they have tools like that in your time?" he then asked.

"Sort of, but only in big, massive factories where they make stuff. But my era's equivalents of what he's using are so big they take up several rooms, consume huge amounts of power, and mostly are used on big, thick, slabs of steel." she replied.

"Steel? They don't use…. Never mind, you probably don't know how to forge it." Galahad then said.

"We've got some stuff made out of Titanium, but they're very, very expensive." Kagome then said.

"Why not use fission lasers? That'll heat it up enough." Galahad responded. Everybody other than Kagome was now completely lost.

"Fission lasers? The only kind of fission I know of happens in nuclear reactors!" Kagome said.

"Yeah, nuclear lasers." Kagome eyes bugged out.

"What? We don't have lasers that powerful! And what about contamination?" she then asked, shocked.

"Never mind. You live in the dark ages, its too hard to explain." Everybody else was ignoring them now. Just then the door to the room slid open hard, banging against the wall, and one of the daimyo's vassals rushed in.

"Milord! Milord! Terrible news! A village just across the northern border has been completely desecrated!" he shouted in a panic voice.

"Desecrated? How?" The daimyo then said very seriously.

"All the men were beheaded, the women gutted like fish, while the children were stabbed in the back and had slit throats! It was very gruesome!"

"What about blood? Was there blood? Answer me!" Galahad snapped in a very commanding tone, shooting to his feet, surprising the daimyo. That stopped the vassal, and he rubbed his chin for a moment, as if thinking, then said with his voice quavering:

"Now that you mention it, t-t-there was no blood, and all the wounds were c-c-c-cauterized!" Everybody's eyes opened at that, and Galahad cocked his head and looked at the daimyo. Shippo started shaking and wimpering, climbing into Kagome's sleeping bag and barely peeking out.

"This, right here, was the reason why those oni appeared. Someone slaughtered the village, drained the blood of the villagers, and then used it in a summoning ritual." Galahad then paused, then gritted his teeth and snarled softly. "There is a dark one among us." he then said with an edge of rage to his voice.

"How can you be sure of what you speak of?" The daimyo then asked.

"Because the same thing happened to my people, except it was by the thousands. We must seek out this blasphemous heretic!" Galahad began to suit up.

"You're saying this black priest, or whoever the hell he is, is the one behind those oni attacks?" InuYasha then asked. Galahad nodded. InuYasha then gritted his teeth too. "For once, I agree with you. We can't be going after Naraku with these oni roaming around. Besides, this madman needs to be stopped." he then said.

"Galahad, this is completely new. I don't know of any native black magics, human or demon, that would require human sacrifices in the manner you speak of. You have any idea of who could be behind this?" Miroku then asked.

"Well, I've got two guesses. Either someone has been severely possessed and is now running around as Lucifer's puppet, or one of my kind has _fallen_. If the latter is true, then we are facing a formidable foe."

"Who is this 'Lucifer' you speak of?" the daimyo then asked.

"The one called Lucifer is the Prince of Darkness, the master of Hell, otherwise known as Satan. He is the arch enemy of _all_ who live." Shippo then let out a small squeal then buried himself further in the sleeping bag, not showing any of himself.

"I think we need to go to this village, and look for clues of where this madman headed next." Sango then said.

"My vassal will lead you there." the daimyo then said. The vassal's jaw dropped to the floor. "Even though this is not within my borders, it could easily spill over into my territories. I implore you to put a stop to this."

"Let's get going then. The longer this bloodthirsty maniac is still breathing, the more people will die." InuYasha then said. They left immediately, the vassal joining them, but he was still a little shaken about going back.

They traveled for the rest of the day. As they were walking, Miroku struck up a conversation with Galahad about the Prince of Darkness.

"Where exactly did this Lucifer come from?" Miroku asked.

"Believe it or not, Lucifer was originally a creation of Yahweh. He was one of Yahweh's top angels, alongside the Archangels." Galahad replied.

"He actually used to be one of the light?" Miroku asked, very intrigued now.

"But Lucifer soon got the idea that he could do Yahweh's job better. Yahweh did not agree with this at all, and ordered him out of Heaven. Lucifer did not comply and began to gather followers, planning a revolution instead. Yahweh then called on Archangel Michael to gather the Holy Angels and banish him from Heaven by force."

"So at one time there was actually a war in Heaven?"

"You could say that, but it was beyond comprehension. It was like a war among gods." Miroku shuddered heavily at that.

"But if he was once of the light, and he just wanted to take over Heaven, why did he abandon the ways of mercy and truth?" he then asked.

"That goes back to what caused him to rebel against Yahweh in the first place. Lucifer was one of Yahweh's most perfect creations. He may have actually been over made. He became self aware of his own potential, and pride in himself began to manifest. He started to think more highly of himself than of Yahweh, and that's what caused him to think he could do a better job than Him. After he was cast out of Heaven, he began to loathe and hate Yahweh and his ways, so he abandoned all connections with them and began to do the complete opposite. And there you have it. That's how the Prince of Darkness came to be."

"But if he was one of Kami-sama's creations, why didn't Kami-sama just destroy him right then and there for rebelling against Him?" Kagome then asked.

"That is not Yahweh's way. He has chose to let it slide for now, but His patience is not infinite with this matter, and eventually Lucifer's punishment will come full circle. Yahweh's patience is beyond comprehension with most things, but it is not so with this." Galahad answered.

"Is Kami-sama trying to give Lucifer a chance at redemption? Is that why He hasn't dealt out His Judgement yet?" InuYasha then asked.

"That is a possibility, but even I do not know."

"This story I have just heard sounds very familiar. It follows the same path I have seen happen to many a good ruler." the vassal then spoke up. Everybody then looked over at him. "My lord is different somehow. It may have been because he had to actually earn his position. Most daimyos I've seen inherited their domain's throne. They were decent before they took power. When they took power however, the power corrupted them and went to their heads. Now I see where that came from." the vassal finished, shaking his head sadly.

It was then that they reached the desecrated village. At first glance, it seemed like a ghost town, with none of the huts and other buildings damaged in any way. But soon enough they began to see the corpses littering the streets, their faces twisted in agony. Miroku stopped and said a very lengthy prayer, everybody else but Galahad shuddering. Shippo ran behind Kagome and seemed to glue himself to her leg. She reached down, picked him up and began to cradle him to her shoulder, patting his back. They proceeded forward. The daimyo's page meanwhile, his job done and nerves shot, turned around and fled off in the opposite direction.

Galahad was looking at the bodies, scanning each one carefully. Ones that still had heads with eyes open he closed. At one particular corpse, he stopped. It was a headless man. He knelt down and looked at the charred skin, flesh, and bone that was once his neck, and examined it. InuYasha walked up.

"See something?" he asked. Galahad didn't answer. He simply reached down, picked up the corpse by the ankle and shook it madly, then dropping it. Miroku ran up.

"Have you no respect for the dead!" he asked with a tinge of anger.

"Calm thyself, tainted monk. This man was wicked anyway. He is burning eternally in Hell now, so it doesn't matter. I was checking for any blood in the corpse. There was none, so this is obviously the work of a fallen. No one possessed could drain bodies as well as this." Galahad replied. Miroku was taken aback some by his 'tainted monk' insult. InuYasha smirked at him. Sango meanwhile, was examining the body of a child.

"Why were the children slain in this fashion, stabbed in the back then their throats slit?" she asked, grimacing. Both her and Kagome were also close to tears at the sight of so many dead children. Shippo was already sobbing, more out of fear than anything else.

"Humans are at their purest during childhood. Using the same brutality on the children as the adults would have harmed the fallen one in some way. He had to slay them in a painless way to avoid self injury. Do not grieve for them so much, they did not feel any pain, and they are with Yahweh in the land of Eternity." Galahad said. His words didn't seem to have any effect on Kagome and Sango. InuYasha however, was now growling fiercely.

"Even though this guy is a little more merciful on pups than Naraku is, still, the reason he did it is just as heinous. I want to find this guy and rip his living heart out with my claws while he's still alive!" InuYasha then yelled angrily.

"InuYasha, your emotions will be your downfall. You must learn to control them if you wish to survive. This bothers me greatly too, but I have learned to put the anger aside. It amounts to nothing but clouding judgment." Galahad said. Suddenly his head snapped to the west, and he was back to his feet in an instant. "Someone is coming. Their presence is similar to…yours." he then said, looking at InuYasha. That clued InuYasha in immediately on who it was.

"Sesshomaru! What the hell is he doing here?" he then said, turning as well as putting his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt. Everybody else turned as InuYasha sprinted off.

"Sesshomaru?" Galahad asked.

"InuYasha's full-demon half-brother." Kagome then said.

"They must not get along well."

"You don't know the half of it." Sango then said, rolling her eyes.

InuYasha was speeding through the village, nearing the woods when he caught Sesshomaru's scent. It was then that Sesshomaru stepped out into the clearing. Tetsusaiga was out in an instant and InuYasha leaped up to try and bring the sword down on his half-brother's head. Sesshomaru didn't look amused at all. With graceful ease, Tokijin was out and he deflected the Tetsusaiga. With a flick of his arm, he sent InuYasha flying off into the woods.

"Little brother, I have no time for your barbarous antics today." the Demon Lord of the West said as he strode onward, sheathing Tokijin. Entering the village, Sesshomaru stopped at the sight of all the bodies strewn everywhere. Looking further, he saw his brother's usual retinue, but this time with a very odd and very out-of-place newcomer. He strode up them, Miroku and Sango readying their weapons. Galahad crossed his arms, his right hand placed stealthily right above his gladius. Sesshomaru looked over at Miroku and Sango. "Down with your weapons. I didn't come to fight." he then said.

"Speak thy name." Galahad then addressed him. Sesshomaru looked him over, even more mystified, but his face kept it's stoic demeanor. He noticed that the strange, white haired human seemed to regard him in the same sense, his face in a similar cold visage. Sesshomaru immediately then knew there was more to this mortal than meets the eye.

"Since you are a foreigner and obviously new to this land, I will tell you who I am. I am Sesshomaru, Demon Lord of the Western Lands. It is strange indeed to see someone like you with my half-breed brother's vassals." Sesshomaru said.

"I am called Galahad. Take note that I am _not_ one of InuYasha's vassals. I stand above that foul barbarian." Galahad then said. That made Kagome look at Galahad with a little bit of a cold stare.

"I see we have something in common." Sesshomaru then said. Galahad then leaned to the side as if looking beyond Sesshomaru's shoulder.

"Are you accompanied?" Galahad then asked. Just then InuYasha broke back out of the woods, Jaken just behind him. Sesshomaru could feel that Tetsusaiga was still out. He then turned, drawing Tokijin as he did and easily stopped InuYasha's slash.

"What the hell are you doing here Sesshomaru!" InuYasha shouted as him and Sesshomaru then began to spar with one another. Sesshomaru knocked the Tetsusaiga out of InuYasha's hands, sending it flying, and then did something none of them were expecting. He sheathed Tokijin and delivered a right cross to InuYasha's jaw that would have shattered a normal human's jawbone. InuYasha collapsed to the ground, seeing stars.

"If you would think for once little brother and ask before attacking, I'd tell you more easily. Understand again that I am here for a different reason than you think." Sesshomaru responded, then turning back to Galahad.

"You saw _them_ too, didn't you?" Galahad said, seeming to read Sesshomaru's mind.

"You know them?" Sesshomaru then asked.

"I know them better than you may think. I have fought against them in war. This is what created them." Galahad then said, motioning to the bodies. "They were executed and their blood drained. Someone is summoning them from the depths of Hell. Apparently they are after me."

"I can tell that they are pure evil incarnated. Even though slaughtering a village like this is not above Naraku's ways, he is not involved in this. I sense a darker force at hand here." Sesshomaru then said, walking up and looking at some of the corpses. Kagome and the others walked up too, getting ready to take the corpses away to bury them, when Sesshomaru put his hand out to stop them, and shook his head at them.

Galahad, meanwhile, walked around to where he could see Sesshomaru's other sword, the Tenseiga. He was sensing a different kind of power from it, not the same dark feeling he was sensing from the Tokijin. Sesshomaru reached down and placed his hand on Tenseiga's hilt and drew it, and held it over a corpse. His eyes then narrowed.

"Something strange has happened here. I cannot see the underlings who normally come to take the soul away." Sesshomaru then said.

"That's because the souls have been stolen, that is, except for the souls of the children. They have gone onward." Galahad then said.

"What! You didn't say that earlier!" The others then said. Sesshomaru was a little doubtful, and swung the Tenseiga over the body. He then believed Galahad's words after the body did not heal up and come back to life.

"You speak the truth. Explain it." Sesshomaru then said, turning back to Galahad and sheathing the Tenseiga.

"That's because the one who did this has a Soul Cube, and it has taken the souls from the bodies." Galahad answered.

"What is this Soul Cube? I have never heard of it." Sesshomaru then inquired.

"This is a Soul Cube." Galahad pulled his Soul Cube off his belt and held it up. "If you have one of these artifacts, when you slay enemies, their souls are sucked into the cube, charging it. Once you have gathered enough, you hold the power to destroy anyone or anything on the face of the Earth. That includes you, but you are much more civilized, and have not earned such punishment. The Soul Cube could destroy this Naraku I keep hearing of in one strike, nothing remaining."

Sesshomaru squinted his eyes as he looked at the Soul Cube. He could sense an aura of pure light around it, and could almost hear the snarls of contained oni spirits within it. Jaken then ran up and awed at the devastation.

"My, my. There was definitely a massacre here. But why have we come here milord?" the little toad imp said up to Sesshomaru.

"These humans were sacrificed to summon the new kinds of intruders I fought, though not the specific ones I destroyed. More powerful ones were summoned apparently with so many sacrifices here." Sesshomaru said as he continued to glance around. Jaken then noticed Galahad.

"Who is this strange looking mortal? He looks pretty formidable milord." Jaken then asked.

"Do not threaten him Jaken, if you wish to keep your head." Sesshomaru answered.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you have seen the oni, I can tell, but why _are_ you here?" Galahad then asked.

"A few of them, apparently the rabble of them, trespassed onto my lands. Anytime a newcomer who has never been encountered before enters my lands, I confront them myself to see who and what they are before killing them. I've come here investigating what they are and why they have started appearing. So they are coming after you? Who do you believe is summoning them?" came the answer.

"I believe another one of my kind now walks the land, but has fallen into the darkness. I came here looking to test my theory, and now I shall begin hunting him."

"It appears then we share similar reasons then for finding this abomination, as you call it." Sesshomaru then said.

"Sesshomaru, if you've now gotten what you came for, why don't you just get the hell out of here!" InuYasha shouted. Galahad and Sesshomaru both gave him an emotionless stare that seemed to tell him to 'shut up'. InuYasha just growled, with some hidden nervousness from being stared down by Sesshomaru and Galahad.

"I have a general idea of where he could be. Do you wish to join me?" Galahad then said to Sesshomaru.

"I do not require any assistance. I do not forge alliances or make deals of any kind." Sesshomaru replied. Galahad nodded.

"Very well, then. We shall consider ourselves neutral towards each other." he then said.

"Come Jaken, our business is finished here." Sesshomaru addressed the toad, and proceeded to leave to the east.

"Right behind you milord! Don't leave me behind!" Jaken shouted as he struggled to catch up. They all watched them until they had disappeared through the trees. Kagome then looked at Galahad.

"Are we going with you to hunt this 'fallen one'?" she asked.

"No, this is my personal vendetta. Besides, he would butcher you all without mercy and your souls would be trapped and tormented in his Soul Cube until he used it. I will stay long enough to help bury the dead here, then I shall take my leave." he responded, his voice now deadly serious.

"Fine by us. At least those strange oni won't be following us around anymore and we can get back to hunting Naraku." InuYasha then said with a smirk.

"Don't be so sure. If they are planning another invasion, then you _will _face them again, whether you like it or not." Galahad then stated.

"Keh. We beat those we fought earlier. We can handle 'em." Galahad then looked down at his feet and shook his head. They then proceeded to bury the bodies. When Miroku walked up to the fresh graves to give them their final rites, Galahad shoved him aside.

"This work is not to be done by one tainted as you are. Leave this to me." Galahad said sternly. Miroku, shocked, started to motion like he was going to expose his Kazaana, when in a blur Galahad grabbed his wrist and twisted it up, Miroku now grunting in pain. "I am already pissed off as it is. Don't make me tear your arm from its socket." Miroku's face then went white as all the blood drained in fear. The others, except InuYasha were utterly speechless. InuYasha was close to laughing. Galahad then let go of Miroku's arm and kneeled in front of the graves. He started to chant in his native tongue, then motioned with his hands in what Kagome saw was a similar fashion to how those of the Catholic faith did, and then began to bow to each one of the graves. His work finished, Galahad then got up, turned and saluted to them, turned in place and strode off. As he disappeared into the dense growth, these words were heard from him:

"Do not attempt to follow me, for my foe is far beyond your skill."


	7. Chapter 7

Futuristic Warrior from the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter VII

After leaving InuYasha and his posse, Galahad wandered the countryside, searching for his prey. Wherever the Fallen went, Galahad followed his trail. He didn't tell the others, but he had found evidence at the massacred village that the Fallen had left. It was evidence he knew no one else could see, for it was a spiritual mark. The Fallen was agitated by something, and his corrupted soul was venting anger by creating an aura that left residue everywhere. Galahad followed the residue until it faded away, the fallen's excess anger gone. That's where Galahad had to switch to looking for physical signs of the Fallen. It slowed Galahad's pace, for the signs were faint and hard to find. The fallen was either paranoid about the way he moved or he knew Galahad was tracking him.

A few days after Galahad had switched to having to look for signs of the Fallen, he came upon a village. The tracks of the Fallen went straight into the village, yet the village was in perfect shape, the people were still alive, and the buildings were not scorched. Galahad took his helmet off and entered the village. Upon seeing the white haired stranger, many of the villagers began whispering to one another and giving Galahad strange looks. Galahad ignored this and kept his gaze upon the ground, sifting through all the tracks of the villagers to find the Fallen's. He kept going until someone stopped right in his path. Galahad looked up to see a woman. She looked very much like Kagome, yet with a more stern attitude, and was wearing clothing exactly like the old priestess Kaede he had met in the village InuYasha and his friends called home. But Galahad knew there was more to this woman than met the eye. He could see the collected souls of the dead within her artificial body, revealing the secret she worked so hard to keep.

"Creature, why do you venture onto these lands? You know you are not welcome, yet you come anyway. Leave now, before I lose patience, demon." The woman said. She pulled off a bow that sat on her shoulder and nocked an arrow on it.

"Stand down, woman. I know what you are, and you cannot stop me. I seek a foe that has passed through here. Furthermore, I am not a demon." Galahad said, crossing his arms.

"Leave this place villagers, you are in danger. I will deal with this abomination." The woman said. The villagers scattered, leaving the two in alone in the street.

"I warned you, your powers will have no effect on me. Besides, I could take all the souls that hold your body together away from you." The woman's eyes widened, then narrowed again. She drew back on the bow, aiming at Galahad's head.

"You may know my secret, but you won't have a chance to use it." She loosed the arrow. The arrow glistened with a holy light as it flew straight at Galahad's face. He held out his hand, the arrow jamming into his armored palm. The arrow continued to glow in Galahad's hand as he pulled it out of his armor and dropped it onto the ground. He drew his gladius.

"You wish to try that again?" He said. The woman let the bow down and looked at him.

"You are different than the first I saw. Who are you?" She asked.

"I am called Galahad. First one you saw? Describe him." He responded, sheathing his gladius.

"The first I saw was armored in black, not silver. He had similar facial features to you, but his eyes were yellow, and his hair black. He had a device that held the souls to the villages he had massacred, and a sword similar to yours." She said.

"He was a fallen one of my kind. I am a demon slayer, but of a different kind than what you know. I hunt what you call oni. My people were slaughtered by them, and I was created to fight and eradicate them, and drive them back from whence they came. This fallen rivals me in power, so few, if any, can stop him in his mad quest to unleash Hell upon the earth. Except for me." Galahad said. The woman nodded, turned, and started to walk away.

"Very well. I leave you to do your duty. You may pass through."

"In case we meet again, what is your name, madam?" She stopped.

"Kikyo." She said over her shoulder. She turned and stepped out of sight.

_-_

That night, Galahad gathered materials for a fire. With a shot from the plasma rifle, he had a warm fire to practice next to. He sat down next to it and prayed first. He asked Yahweh for guidance for once he caught up to the fallen. He also prayed for the fallen, that he might see the light and turn back to his old faith. Lastly, Galahad prayed for InuYasha and the others, noting on the particular problems for each of them. Once finished, he meditated and found his center. Then he fed an internal flame all his thoughts and emotion, until only the flame remained in his mind. He then stood up and drew his gladius.

Galahad started simple, as always, with easy swings and parrying that even InuYasha could master. Then he slowly progressed upwards in complexity and speed. All the while feeding the internal flame inside of his head. He then abruptly stopped in mid swing. A holy spring had just flourished inside of him. Galahad had just reacquired some of his power that was lost for being frozen for over six thousand years. He felt Yahweh's hand guiding his actions, partially controlling him. Galahad went back to practicing, and that he had sped up to the point where he had disappeared into a blur of slashes. In his advanced state, he looked over at the fire. It burned more slowly, the flames moving in slow motion. Galahad picked up a rock and flung it at a tree. With a late sounding crack, the rock passed completely through the tree.

Satisfied that his prayers had been answered, Galahad slowed his equilibrium back down to that of the normal world and said a prayer in thanks for the answer he had been given. Galahad now felt confident that he could match the fallen in battle, and defeat him. Now he had to forage his food. He got up and crept off, looking for an animal that he could use to sustain himself.

_-_

In the week or so following Galahad's departure, InuYasha and his retinue had returned to Kaede's village, and Kagome had gone back to her time yet again for another round of her 'tests'. InuYasha, surprisingly, was helping Kaede out in her garden, while the others were helping out with other things around the village that were needing done.

"InuYasha, I'm surprised thou chose to help me today." Kaede said as she was pulling some weeds and handing them to him, who then shredded them.

"Keh. Got nothing better to do since Kagome's gone, and sitting up in Goshinboku waitin' for her's gotten old." He replied gruffly. "Besides, the trail for Naraku and the other shards have gone cold."

"Where's Galahad? He didn't return with ye?" The old miko then asked.

"Well, we came upon a village with him that had been desecrated in a manner none of us had ever seen before." InuYasha then described the events that had happened in the village several days before.

"So, he and Sesshomaru have gone off to search for this tainted one, have they?"

"That's right. Galahad said we shouldn't follow him either, because this evil one probably has a Soul Cube device of his own. Galahad told us that he would've easily been able to kill each one of us, _me_ included, and that our souls would have then been trapped in his Soul Cube until he used it." InuYasha then explained with a slight growl. Kaede was about to ask something else when the village elder approached.

"Ah, InuYasha. Thank Kami I found you. I need to see you!" He then said.

"What do you want old man?" InuYasha then asked.

"Follow me to my hut, this is urgent. The monk and the taijiya are already there waiting. Where's the strange girl?" he then asked.

"She's away. She'll be back by tomorrow." InuYasha then followed the elder to his hut where Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara where waiting. "Now what the hell's this about?" InuYasha then asked. The elder took a deep breath, then started.

"Yesterday, some messengers from the local daimyo came to see me with unnerving news. They said that they've been hearing rumors that something very strange has started happening at a mansion four days' travel north of here."

"What kind of happenings?" Miroku then asked.

"They said it all started three weeks ago. I would've shrugged it off, but that time coincides with not long before that strange, metal-clad, white haired one showed up with you. Where is he anyways?" the elder then asked.

"Gone off on his own. He's discovered he's got his own score to settle with someone we would like to kill like Naraku. He didn't want us following him, and _I_ wasn't in any position to argue with him." InuYasha then explained, growling again.

"What's been happening at this mansion?" Sango then pressed for the elder to continue.

"Starting those three weeks ago everyone who has gone to the mansion has not returned. No news, nothing about them after they left whatever village or estate they call home. Several daimyos have also sent messengers there too. Same thing with them. The closest one to here then tried sending some soldiers out to the place. When _they _didn't report back and he heard nothing more about them, he sent word out to find the famous, red-clad inu-hanyou and his party to request them to investigate. His messengers said they were about to give up when they arrived."

"Keh. Sounds like he's being overly paranoid. The head of the mansion may just be trying to start something nasty, like maybe building his own army or something like that." InuYasha then said.

"It cannot be that. The messengers also said that they've heard reports of strange, ominous noises coming from the mansion. Villages surrounding it have been abandoned because the people were unnerved by the inhuman sounds they were hearing off in its direction." the elder then said. He then continued. "So, will you leave today then to investigate this? I share the same worries as the messengers that whatever's going on there may start to spread if its not taken care of."

"We will go and investigate it, but not immediately. Kagome won't be back until tomorrow and we may need her miko powers for this. We'll leave after she gets back." Miroku then stated.

"Now hold on just a minute Miroku. This could turn out to be a wild goose chase. We may just find that he's holding the people hostage for ransom. Naraku's more important than this." InuYasha protested.

"InuYasha, we can't afford not to check this out. Remember what Galahad said. The corrupted one of his kind has also started unleashing those oni of his not just to hunt him, but possibly to also try and start to subvert the land too. This may be that tainted one's doing. Those noises that have been reported sound to me like they could be unearthly. It's the strongest piece of evidence that our 'maniac' may be involved."

"Keh. OK, then we'll go. But if there's no sign of that, we're leaving immediately. Now that you mention that Miroku, I might just be able to convince Kagome to come back early if I tell her the 'maniac' may be involved, and we can leave tonight." InuYasha then said, rubbing his chin a little. The elder's eyes lit up.

"Miroku, what if we find more of those tough oni like we ran into before?" Sango then asked.

"We'll have a tough fight on our hands then. In the last battles, I refrained from using my Kazaana out of fear that the oni would do something to me like Naraku's saimyoushou, but I may have to take that risk if we run into them again. The rest of you will have to be prepared to subdue me should I start to become possessed if I have to use it on them." They got up then and left, and InuYasha headed off to the well.

_-_

_Rrrrriiiiinnnnngggggg!_ Kagome reached over and pushed a button on the back of the windup alarm clock beside her sleeping bag as she sat up.

"Ah, another day of school." Kagome then first said. She then opened her eyes and saw a familiar hanyou looking at her with a puzzled look. "Oh, that's right. InuYasha, how did you convince me to come back early again, huh?" The young girl then asked as her cheeriness disappeared some.

"Keh! That crazy maniac of Galahad's may be causing trouble, remember! Don't tell me you want to go back home, 'cause it ain't happenin'." InuYasha then replied. Dawn was just starting to break over the group's campsite and the others were starting to wake up. InuYasha had gone off just before sunrise and came back with a pair of rabbits. After fully waking up, Kagome then cooked them over her tiny propane stove and the group ate breakfast. They were soon on their way after that.

Getting Kagome to come back early had been easier than InuYasha had thought. All he'd had to do was mention the Fallen one that Galahad had talked about, and she'd agreed very quickly. They had set out shortly after returning from the well and had made good time that night, covering the same ground within six hours thaton footor horsebackwould have taken two days. They had stopped at Kagome found out to be about eleven after looking at her little clock, had had a quick supper and slept.

They had been traveling till about noon when they soon came across a village that was completely abandoned, and off in the distance further north, they had started to faintly hear a dark, guttural moaning that was the most unearthly sound they had ever heard. The sky was also unnaturally dark in that direction.

"W-W-What is t-t-t-that?" Shippo had started to shake heavily in fear, and clamped onto one of InuYasha's legs.

"I've never heard sounds like that before." Sango then said looking around. Miroku closed his eyes for a moment.

"Those sounds must be being made by someone or something that's related to those oni. No demon can make sounds like that. We're very close. This must be the first of the abandoned villages." Miroku then said. They continued on, and the sounds very gradually got louder as they went further north. InuYasha at one point suggested stopping for lunch, and the others had given him a look like he'd totally lost it for suggesting such a thing when they all could plainly hear the moaning. Pretty soon, they started to approach the gates to a mansion, and Miroku stopped.

"Why am I sensing a great presence of the Undead? InuYasha, you smelling anything?" Miroku then asked. InuYasha then took a big sniff, and his face contorted.

"Ugh! The stench of dead and rotting corpses! It's so strong it's almost overwhelming my nose!" he then said.

"Kagome, here." Sango said, getting out a spare mask of hers that she'd made the last time she'd gone to the exterminators' village, before putting on her own. Kagome took it and put it on.

"InuYasha, warn me the next time we go to a place like this so I'll know to bring a gas mask." Kagome then said. Miroku then slowly walked up to the gate doors and tried to open them.

"Won't budge." he said. Without a word, InuYasha ran up and kicked the gates right off their hinges. They then walked in. Kagome then almost threw up, and Shippo would have screamed, had it not been for InuYasha clamping a hand over his mouth.

Before them they saw a whole courtyard full of people that appeared to be sitting and meditating, except that two-thirds of them appeared to be rotting! Faces, skin, limbs, and even a few heads were missing from most of them as they sat! One whose head was just a skull looked up and then rose to it's feet. Others noticed and got up too. They then started to jerkily stagger toward them, groaning.

"What kind of undead are these damn things?" InuYasha asked.

"This looks similar to the time Kagura brought the dead wolf demons back to life, but InuYasha, do you smell Naraku anywhere?" Sango then asked.

"No. I can't pick up any trace of Naraku or his detachments. But the stench of these guys are so strong they may be masking it." InuYasha replied. Some of the zombies were starting to get close, and they're eyes started to glow red. "_Sankon-tessou!"_ InuYasha began to claw up the ones that were getting too close for comfort and Miroku began to swing his staff around. Sango meanwhile had begun to use her boomerang as a club. Shippo had found his foxfire was useless on the zombies, so he was just staying close to the others. They all fought their way to the mansion porch and turned around.

To their horror, the zombies they had just killed were starting to get back up!

"Dammit! Where's Sesshomaru when you need him?" InuYasha then said angrily.

"Why would he be of any help?" Miroku then shouted as he took the head of one, but not stopping it.

"The Tenseiga works like a normal sword when it's used on the undead!" was the reply.

"Wait! I got it!" Kagome then said, she pulled her bow off her back and began to take aim at the zombies. Her arrows started to utterly disintegrate them! Miroku saw this and got the hint. He started pulling sutras out of his robes and flinging them at the zombies, with similar results. Unfortunately, Kagome soon ran out of arrows, Miroku fully expending the last of his sutras as well a minute or so later. They had however, reduced the zombies to where there was only about half of them as before.

"Well, what do we do now? Kagome's out of arrows, and Miroku's out of sutras." Sango said as the group was now back to back in the center of the courtyard, the remaining zombies staggering toward them.

"I think we should leave so Kagome and I can replenish our weapons." Miroku suggested.

"Uh-uh. We're finding whatever's responsible for doing this first! Kagome, I've got an idea." InuYasha said as he pulled out the Tetsusaiga.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"Put your hands on the Tetsusaiga's handle and see if you can focus some of your powers into it." InuYasha then said.

"What? Are you nuts? I'll only cause it to transform back!"

"Its worth a shot. Your miko powers work the strongest on these zombies, but you've got no way of using them without your arrows. Just do it!"

Hesitantly, Kagome put her hands on the bottom of the sword's hilt, below InuYasha's hands and concentrated. InuYasha began to feel a burning in his hands from the purifying energy entering the sword, and the sword began to glow and shrink some, the miko energy trying to transform the sword into its docile state. InuYasha tightened his grip on the hilt, and exerted his will more on the sword to keep it from transforming back. The sword grew back to its original size as Kagome continued to pump her purifying energy into it, and InuYasha started to grunt from the pain.

"Never mind me, Kagome, just keep putting power into it. I'll be fine." InuYasha ground out through clenched fangs. The sword then began to take on a pinkish glow from Kagome's energy building up in it. "Alright, that's enough." Kagome then removed her hands and the now powered up sword continued to glow. InuYasha opened his eyes as sweat from the pain began to run down his forehead. Panting some from the exertion of keeping the sword transformed, he ran forward at the zombies.

"_Kaze no Kizu!"_ InuYasha brought the fang down onto the ground, and the entire group was utterly shocked at what happened. The attack leapt from the blade, but instead of being colored the usual yellow, the attack now had a pinkish tint to it from Kagome's purifying energy! When the attack hit the mob of zombies, not only were they torn limb from limb like normal, but the parts of them also dissolved from the purification energy stored up in the attack. InuYasha then raised the Tetsusaiga back up. The sword's glow had faded a little, but it was still there.

"Impressive. I never thought a mere half-breed youkai such as you could resist a priestess' powers like that. You'd make a fine addition to our army, once we'd exorcised that pitiful human blood from you." They then heard a voice say. The voice was similar to the one of the Baron and Knights that had almost killed Galahad a week or so earlier, but this voice was speaking in fluent Japanese. They all turned to where the voice had come from. What appeared to be a dark brown colored Baron/Hell Knight then walked out of the front door of the mansion. In its right hand was a broadsword that seeped with a dark tinge, and on its left arm was a flayed shield with a skull set in the center of it. The edges of his flayed shield had been sharpened to a razor's edge. InuYasha then smirked at him.

"So you're the one who possessed all these people. This part of some grand plan or something?" he then asked, raising Tetsusaiga at the oni.

"Actually yes it is. The armies of Hell will soon march upon this land and the entire Earth. But enough about that. I've heard about you and your group from the people I brought here. With the exception of you, half-breed, the rest of you will become the first of my next batch of undead. Half-breed, you will be joining our army after I've beaten you down sufficiently." The oni replied. Miroku then started to unwrap the prayer beads sealing the Kazaana. The oni grinned a fanged grin and looked at him. "Ah, go ahead if you wish, priest. I know about that power of yours. Possessing you and corrupting your soul would be that much easier then." A surprised look came to Miroku's face, and he re-tightened the beads. InuYasha looked at Kagome.

"Kagome, you up to charging up the Tetsusaiga a little bit again?" he then asked. Kagome looked a little tired from her earlier effort.

"I'm a little bushed, but I will try." she replied. Kagome then put her hands on the fang's hilt and concentrated again. The glow on the weapon brightened a little, and InuYasha gasped at the increase of pain in his hands from holding the sword. Kagome took her hands from the weapon, and was now panting heavily. "That's all I can do. I'm too exhausted." she then said, bending over and putting her hands on her knees. Sango then ran up and put an arm around her. The oni, meanwhile, had embedded the tip of its sword into the porch of the mansion and began to lean on it, not looking amused. When Kagome finished, it pulled the sword back out and began to approach them.

"Now that your pathetic preparations are complete, we can start." It then said.

"Get back, all of you. I've got to handle this." InuYasha said to the others. They did that, and InuYasha then ran at the oni with his Tetsusaiga raised. His face was still contorted in pain from the purifying energy stored up within the sword. The oni raised his shield and blocked InuYasha's first attack, and the two began to trade sword blows. InuYasha was being able to parry and keep up with the oni's attacks, but the oni was stopping his attacks too whenever he went on the offensive. Neither one of them were being able to gain any kind of advantage. Then, the oni faked a move and caught InuYasha off balance when he attacked. The oni used his shield to deflect the Tetsusaiga and InuYasha's arms up, leaving his chest exposed. The oni swung his sword at InuYasha's chest. InuYasha's fire-rat haori absorbed most of the attack and was cut open, but he was still grazed some. The dark energy in the sword made the attack hurt like hell to InuYasha, and he backed away. The oni then grinned and came at him again.

_'I've got to get that shield out of his hands and put him down soon. I'm starting to feel Kagome's power fade from the Tetsusaiga.' _InuYasha thought. The Tetsusaiga's pinkish glow had faded a little. Filled with the impending urgency to finish the fight, InuYasha attacked with a renewed sense of vigor. Ignoring the pain from his chest and from his hands from the purifying power, InuYasha began to swing fast and hard at the oni. Sparks of energy were flying as the miko power charged up in the fang met the darkness imbued in the oni's sword. When the oni stopped a particular swing InuYasha had been planning, InuYasha made his move. With a swift kick, he knocked the oni's shield up, exposing the oni's arm that was holding it. In the same motion, InuYasha swung Tetsusaiga at the arm and cleaved the oni's shield arm off at the shoulder. The oni roared in intense pain as the amputated arm fell to the ground and began to dissolve. InuYasha's foot was now cut up and bleeding some from kicking the flayed shield.

"You fight well half-breed, but that's what you still are. A half-breed! You cannot hope to defeat me!" The oni roared and attacked again, still full of fury. InuYasha smiled some as he parried the blows, though they were harder to parry this time.

_'That's right, get angry. You can't fight as good when you're angry.'_ InuYasha thought, noticing that the oni's attacks weren't as well executed now as before. He then returned the taunt. "Half-breed am I? I don't deny that. In fact, I'm proud of it. The human half of me is what allows me to protect the weak your kind seem to love to kill so well. My old man, meanwhile, who gave me my youkai powers, was so powerful that if he were still alive he could probably squash an army of you lowlifes without even breaking a sweat! Oh and by the way, I'm a _hanyou_, not a half-breed." he said with a smug grin.

"You will die by those words!" The oni then shouted, and then began to attack in a blind fury. That was what InuYasha had been waiting for. When the oni then tried a poorly timed swing, InuYasha swung at the blade of the oni's sword. CHA-CHINK! The Tetsusaiga broke the oni's sword in two, the miko energy in the fang purifying the sword at the same time. The oni grunted in pain from the purifying energy and threw the remainder of his broken sword to the ground as InuYasha leapt back away from him.

"_Kaze no Kizu!_" InuYasha unleashed the attack once again. This time, all the remaining miko energy in the Tetsusaiga was expended in this attack. The powered up attack sped toward the oni.

"NOOOO!" The oni screamed as the attack hit him full force. "Lucifer, I've failed you!" it then screamed as it entered its death throes and began to dissolve from the miko energy. The oni turned into a bloody spot, and continued to slowly dissolve. InuYasha then sheathed the Tetsusaiga and sat on the ground, the exhaustion finally hitting him fully.

"InuYasha, you did it!" Kagome said enthusiastically as she slowly walked up to him and put her arms around him.

"InuYasha, you continue to amaze all of us." Miroku then said.

"That was one of the hardest damn battles I've ever fought. Not only was I fighting that oni, I was also having to fight to keep the Tetsusaiga transformed while it was powered up like that. Kagome, we need to see if Totosai can make you a sword that's infused with your powers so you can still fight after you've run out of arrows. But not now. Let's get's get back to Kaede's first." InuYasha then said as he panted from exhaustion heavily and groaned some in pain from his foot.

_-_

As the first rays of dawn streaked across the shantytown, the Fallen prepared to gain some personal power. He was not even noticed by the few people out as he proceeded to the hut where the monks stayed. Upon arriving at it, he found the monks already outside, along with some competition. A large creature stood facing the monks, similar in shape to that of a Minotaur. The fallen walked towards it.

"Step aside, these mortals are mine." The Fallen said. He had finally learned the language of the natives, and found it so simple it was boring to speak.

"You dare challenge me? I will drain the powers from these monks for my use. But since you wish to die, you will be the first!" It then swung a large hammer at the Fallen. Super charging his equilibrium, the Minotaur seemed to slow down as the Fallen sped up. The monks stood aghast as the black armored figure turned into a blur and zipped by the monster's attack, slashing the monster across the chest as its hammer smashed a spot on the ground. Its roar in pain sounded very strange slowed down, but the creature took the defense and started trying to keep up with the Fallen's movements.

As the Fallen seemed to float around the Minotaur, he saw that his slash had done nothing but agitate the creature. It would take his more potent of attacks to bring the creature down. He reached for the corrupted Soul Cube on his belt. As he brought it up to the ready position, he dodged the stomp the Minotaur had directed at him. Stopping suddenly, the Fallen reared back and hurled the corrupted Soul Cube at the Minotaur. The blades that were the wings spread out and most the light in the area was sucked into the Soul Cube, casting the land in shadow. The Minotaur looked confusedly at the tiny contraption as it flew at it. For a single instant, everything within fifty yards of the Minotaur was cast into complete blackness as the Soul Cube obliterated the creature. As sunlight flooded the area once again, the spot where the Minotaur stood was nothing but molten rock and scorched earth. The fallen caught the Soul Cube as it returned to him, and attached it to his belt. The monks stared at the yellow-eyed Caucasian, fear in their eyes. The Fallen started walking toward them.

"How do you have such p-" One started to say, but was cut off as the Fallen re-accelerated and eviscerated every one of them. They collapsed around him in a heap, their bodies still smoking from his attacks. The Fallen sheathed his black gladius and looked skyward, arching his arms back. Black lightning surged from the corpses and into the body of the Fallen, who began to shake as he was filled with more power. After a few seconds, the lightning stopped coming from the bodies. The Fallen lowered his gaze from the sky and looked upon the villagers, his eyes now glowing a dark red. Frightened, the villagers scattered. The fallen had no interest in them any more, he had other plans. Popping his knuckles, the Fallen started back to his lair. He had a trap to set.

_-_

Galahad was just cresting a hill when he saw the flash of darkness off in the distance. A psychic spark strung across his mind. He could literally feel the evil in the air, its corruptive touch withering the plants around him. The Fallen was close.

He was in no particular hurry, he knew that if he sped he would catch up to the Fallen too quickly to find his demon-summoning circle. Setting his sights on the village, he started at a brisk walk. One thing gladdened him. He felt the signature of a Soul Cube's use, so he was safe from having such a monstrous attack unleashed on him.

After an hour of walking, he entered the village. The smell of sulfur and burnt flesh hit him. The evil taint that the corrupted Soul Cube had unleashed was poisoning the ground. As he stepped upon the battleground, he saw that the Fallen's Soul Cube was so overcharged that it had burnt the soil into ash and melted the bedrock, turning it into a small pool of lava. Three corpses laid over by the pool, with cauterized slash marks across their chests.

Not surprisingly, none of the villagers were outside. They all hid, looking at him through windows and doorways, fear in their eyes. Galahad turned to someone who was looking through a window. The man started to step away from the window but was stopped when Galahad shot up and grabbed him with lightning speed.

"Sir, where has the man who caused this gone?" Galahad asked. The man shivered and uneasily pointed to the north. "You not need to fear me. I mean to destroy this man." Galahad then let go of him and scanned the ground. Fresh, unhidden marks of the fallen led him to the north, just as the villager showed. After entering a valley, he followed the tracks down into an area where a plateau jutted upwards, revealing a cave. The tracks led into the cave, and as Galahad stood before the entrance, he again felt the presence of the aura he felt before. Pulling his plasma rifle off his back and cocking it, Galahad ventured into the darkness.

As soon it became too dark to see, Galahad altered the retina and irises of his eyes, allowing more light to reflect inward, making his eyes glow a soft gray. Able to see better, he then proceeded deeper into the cave until he found the door, which had been ripped off its track and smashed into the floor.

The interior was a wreck. Wall panels were covered in scratch marks, obviously from demon claws, and many of the lights dangled out of socket or simply did not work at all. Galahad slowed his pace and held his plasma rifle in a ready position. He did not feel fear at the sight of all the signs of demonic presence, but his adrenaline cleared his mind to an extreme calm, and emotionless. His soldier side was fully engaged. Galahad continued forward until maniacal laughter came as if from nowhere, causing the metal clad warrior to freeze in place and look up. It continued for several seconds, then abruptly stopped. Pushing the memory of the laughter out of his mind, Galahad continued deeper into the bowels of the desecrated facility. As he neared the cryogenics chamber, he could hear unholy chanting coming from within. Peering through the doorway, Galahad laid his eyes on a visage of Hell.

The Fallen stood in the exact center of a glowing red pentagram on the floor, chanting in the black speech. The walls were seemingly made of hunks of flesh, and pools of bubbling magma sat at the corners of the room. Galahad brought his plasma rifle to his shoulder and stepped inside.

"/You! You there! Turn where I can see your face/" Galahad ordered, speaking in Low Speech, his native language. The Fallen turned, wielding his gladius in his hands. Galahad immediately recognized the face of the insane man before him. "/_Romulus._ I figured that if anyone of the expedition into Hell went to the darkness, it would be you. Proves I was correct./" Galahad said, staring Romulus down with his plasma rifle. Romulus grinned, his glowing red eyes flashing once.

"/And it seems that I was correct about the one who was bringing down my underlings. You were the best one among us, the leader of the expedition. There's no telling how many times you pulled my ass out of the fire, but you let me get a little too scorched. I only thought I was depressed when I was frozen. But my awakening brought me to a conclusion: _insanity_. Now I seek to conquer this petty world when I dispatch you and unleash my army waiting in the depths of Hell./" Romulus said, putting on a crested helmet and taking an offensive stance.

"/Very well, it seems that I will have to return you to the depths of Hell with an early demise. Prepare yourself/" Galahad shouted, unloading a burst from his plasma rifle. Romulus charged up his equilibrium, dodged the shots, and threw a blade down into the barrel of the gun. Galahad immediately responded by throwing the gun and drawing his gladius. The gun detonated upon impact, spewing hot blue plasma everywhere, burning into the floor. Galahad charged his equilibrium and sped at Romulus. In their heightened state, the pair of sparring warriors looked like a swirling tornado of flashing blades, the air filled with the non-stop clanging of their weapons. From Galahad's point of view, Romulus seemed to be leaving a trail wherever he went, and that the corrupted warrior had gained some skill in the use of his blade. The two continued to fight, gaining openings for kicks and punches.

Galahad could see the kick coming to his face, but he could do nothing to stop it, Romulus was moving faster than Galahad's ability to see attacks. The kick caught him in the side of the head, taking his helmet off and knocking him across the room. He dug his feet into the floor and screeched to a halt, then shot at Romulus with a flying kick. Romulus was struck square in the chest, but at the same time he stabbed Galahad in the abdomen. So as Romulus flew through a stone portion of the wall, Galahad dropped to a knee and wrenched the corrupted blade out of his side.

_'He has dealt me quite a blow. I must finish him quickly less he wear me down. Very well, I shall overcharge myself.'_ Galahad thought. He picked up Romulus' blade and turned to the hole in the wall Romulus had made. The dark warrior stepped to the mouth of the hole, staggering some. He spotted Galahad and ran at him, drawing a dagger. Galahad instinctively threw Romulus' sword at him. To his surprise, he threw the blade so hard in his overcharged state that it sank into Romulus' shoulder all the way to the hilt. Romulus slowed his pace to pull his blade out, it seeming to have little effect on him.

The two warriors continued fighting, ignoring their wounds. Galahad received many nicks to the face and arms since Romulus wielded two weapons, but Romulus could not keep up with Galahad's pace, and took a thorough beating in the process. Then Romulus seemed to charge at Galahad again, but abruptly changed course. He ran up to a panel on the wall and opened it, revealing a rather large gun, easily the size of a man's chest. He hit a couple buttons on it and turned to face Galahad.

"/You may have defeated me in combat, but you cannot defeat my fusion cannon! I leave you to find your maker. Burn and suffer, Galahad/" Romulus shouted. He threw a strange device on the ground and disappeared in a flash of red flames. Galahad sprinted up to the weapon. He knew that Romulus had not intended to shoot Galahad with the weapon, for in such proximity that it would destroy them both. Galahad took one glance at it then turned and started sprinting away, the weapon was set to overcharge, creating a blast strong enough to destroy the whole compound!

Galahad ran as fast as he could, surging through the facility. He knew that he did not have enough time to get away from the shock wave, but he had a chance to at least get out of the immediate blast area. Galahad came up short on his run by the skin of his teeth. As he ran out the mouth of the cave, utterly exhausted, the weapon detonated. Galahad felt himself lifted into the air and thrown forward. The world passed by in a blur as Galahad flew outward. Then the rippling blur abruptly turned to darkness as he collided with a large boulder.


	8. Chapter 8

Futuristic Warrior from the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter VIII

Sesshomaru tread down the forest path with Jaken, on the trail of what Galahad called the Fallen, when it happened. As they walked, the plateau-shaped mountain directly ahead of them exploded. The loudness of the blast was so strong that it deafened Sesshomaru for a moment, and completely knocked Jaken down. The blast seemed to come out the side of the mountain, showing that it was no volcanic eruption. The mountain could no longer be seen as the smoke blotted it out, but Sesshomaru could make out boulders being hurled through the air. Not to mention that a shockwave streaked across the ground, uprooting trees all along its way.

"Jaken, take cover or hold on to something." Sesshomaru said, sidestepping and gripping a large rock embedded in the ground. The shockwave was still strong as it struck Sesshomaru, whipping his hair around, and he struggled to keep a firm grip with his only arm. Jaken was holding onto a limb of a tree and was flapping like a flag in a strong breeze from the force of the shockwave. His screams in terror was drowned out by the thundering of the explosion. Sesshomaru thought he was having enough problems when he saw the boulders coming his way.

Sesshomaru stepped closer to get a sure footing, and drew Tokijin. As a boulder speeded his way, he nimbly slashed it in two large halves. The two massive chunks of partially molten rock passed by him as others followed. In total Sesshomaru went through four differently sized boulders with Tokijin when the dust finally settled. Sesshomaru continued onwards until he came upon where the shockwave stopped uprooting trees. Everything was burnt and scorched, turning the once fertile plain into a barren waste. The mountain was still belching smoke, masking how badly it was damaged to Sesshomaru.

_'What did this? This is surely the work of either Galahad or that other we both seek. But how could one mortal summon such power as this?'_ Sesshomaru thought.

"Milord, what was that! I have never seen such power as this, even in the days of your father!" Jaken yelled, obviously because he still could not hear. Sess's hearing was still muted, and his ears rung loudly from such noise.

"Jaken, we leave this place. Our quarry has moved on, I can smell it." Sesshomaru said.

"How could mere mortals survive something such as that blast? I don't understand milord." Jaken said, but he still followed his master.

_'I have seriously misjudged the power of Galahad and who he calls "The Fallen". But I still seek to see this dark one dead, he could seriously interfere with the whole world, not just these lands.' _Sesshomaru thought as he trekked east, now completely lost as to where he could find the Fallen. But he would find him. And kill him.

_-_

Night had fallen in the past hour as the group finally left the now empty mansion. InuYasha's foot had been cut up so bad that he had asked Kagome to bandage it up. Afterwards they had waited around some so his demonic healing could do it's work enough to where he could walk without immense pain. Even then, InuYasha was still wincing with each step some as they were leaving. He wasn't carrying Kagome, his foot still ached too much for that.

Suddenly, there a bright flash to the west, and they all turned in that direction.

"What was that? Was that a lightning flash?" Kagome then asked.

"A thunderstorm without clouds? The stars are out. I don't see how that's possible." Sango then said. The ground then suddenly began to quake and rumble, making sure footing hard to find all of a sudden. InuYasha lost his footing and fell over, aggravating his injured foot.

"Dammit! Of all the times for a volcanic eruption!" He cursed, rubbing his foot.

"Uh,I don't think that's a normal eruption. Look!" Shippo said, then pointing. They saw a shockwave spreading away rapidly from a mountain in the distance, ripping up and scorching everything in its path. Meanwhile, a mushroom-shaped cloud was rising above the same mountain as well.

"Oh no, was that an atomic bomb? Please let me be wrong!" Kagome said, starting to panic. Then the sound hit them. It was similar to that of thunder, but it went on and on, never seeming to end, and Kagome, recognizing the sounds from science class, thought her worst fears had been confirmed. Then a massive gust of wind hit them. Everybody standing was blown over hard by it, and InuYasha was rolled over from it.

"What the hell was that?" InuYasha then asked, as the sound began to subside.

"Yeah, Kagome, what were you talking about?" Miroku then asked. Kagome then got up, her lips trembling.

"I-I-I t-t-think it was an a-a-atomic b-b-bomb. They are a weapon that exist in my era, and have a destructive potential you all cannot possibly imagine." Kagome then said, her voice quavering. "InuYasha, just one of those bombs could level my entire home city, leaving nothing standing." InuYasha's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Kagome, that may have been the work of Galahad, or the Fallen. There's no other possible explanation for it then." Miroku then said. "Anyway, come on. Let's get moving again."

"Actually, I think we should stop now. I'm in just too much shock to keep going. I never thought nor hoped to witness anything like I've just seen." Kagome then said, still trembling. InuYasha ambled over to her to comfort her, as they set up camp for the night.

_-_

Galahad slowly came around from unconciousness, groaning and opening his eyes. He lay against the boulder, his gladius sticking in the rock a few inches away from his face. He started to sit up, but the extreme pain of his wounds forced him to lay on his back. His head throbbed immensly from a concussion, and his left forearm stung very sharply, the bones obviously broken. Galahad reached for where his healing vials were on his belt, but felt nothing but shards of glass. His one open eye opened wide in surprise, the other swollen shut. He shifted where he lay to find that every one of them had been shattered in the impact against the boulder. _'Oh this is a dark day indeed, my healing medicines have been destroyed. I must gather my remaining strength and make my way back to Kagome's time, I do not trust the neanderthals of this era.'_ Galahad thought. He pulled himself over to the rock and lay with his back against it, building strength to get to his feet.

The plateau where the demonic facility once resided was a complete wreck. One third of the plateau had been annihilated, a molten lava filled crater sat in its place. Galahad looked around him to see massive hunks of stone all around the scorched plain where he sat. He figured he had Yahweh's protection on his side, for he could have easily been crushed under the massive hunks of rock.

Having gathered what strength he had, he reached out and grabbed his gladius with his right hand. He then used the sword as an anchor to pull himself to his feet. He then tugged the blade out of the rock and sheathed it. Galahad took a deep breath and started toward Kaede's village, the map he had drawn in his mind telling him where to go. He went at a slow and steady pace, not wanting to overtire himself and pass out. As he stagger-walked, he cupped his hand over the puncture wound from Romulus (which was still bleeding), his left arm hung limp at his side.

As he slowly traveled along a forest path, he hoped that there was no oni in the area, he knew he was very vulnerable at the moment. Stumbling along the beaten path, many thoughts drifted through his head. He wondered what the others thought of him. He guessed that InuYasha saw him as a overly stern warrior, and that Galahad knew everything. He was sure the monk did not hold him in high regard, he had insulted him many times, and even threatened him. The other demon slayer he was not sure of, she probably held him in a different light, like a superior in rank. He was grateful for that. He knew Kagome was on his side, in almost every matter. Why? He was not completely positive, but he figured that she sympathized withhim for telling her about what he is and whathe had been through. He could see a true friend in her, but he would always stand apart. He was something to the effect of a superhuman, and his training forbade him to mingle with the common people. He was to protect them, not make friends with them, it would soften him. The little child Shippou he didn't have a clue as to what he thought. Galahad had never been a child, so he could not relate to that field at all. He didn't mind that he had none of what he would consider "friends"; his friends was his fellow battle brothers, and he figured they were all gone.

All this played through Galahad's mind as he plodded on, his bodily pains numbing his thoughts. As he continued onward, his mind drifted back to his past. After returning from his excursion into Hell, Galahad and the other remaining survivors where honored as heroes, and where given extreme amounts of publicity from the commoners. Galahad had ordered his men to swear to silence about the details of their encounters, they were not for the ears of the innocent. Not long after the people of Eden left their home, the planet was devastated from the war Hell had unleashed upon them. They came to the planet Terra, which was locked in an ice age. As they began to build their new homes, the populace began to question one another. They were not sure of each other's loyalty to Yahweh, and began to argue over whether there were heretics among the people. Eventually it broke out in civil war. The Council of Elders, not wanting their supreme warriors to be used for either side, ordered them to be scattered across the planet and hidden from the commoners, only to be unfrozen and awakened if the time came when Hell might rise up again. It worried him that now might be the time for a second rising of Hell, and that he was the only Holy Warrior standing in their path. _'This is not the time for this! I must focus on my plight, and find proper medical treatment!'_ Galahad scolded himself.

As he continued to travel, nearing Kaede's village, his body started to give out. His staggering walk was more now as a fight against collapsing. His vision became cloudy, and it became hard to see objects in the growing twilight. He hurried as fast as he could to the well and stood before it.

_'How am I going to go down there safely? I might pass out when I hit the ground.'_ Galahad thought. For once he threw caution to the wind and dropped into the well.

_-_

Galahad cried out in pain as he landed on the hard floor at the bottom of the well. His left arm had smacked the ground, and it stung with fresh waves of pain. Galahad gritted his teeth and climbed up and out of the well. He left the well house and slowly made his way over to Kagome's house. As he reached the door, he leaned heavily upon the wall and tapped on the glass with his knuckles. Mrs. Higurashi opened the door, a smile starting to come to her face at the sight of Galahad. But when she had the door fully open and she has seen the condition Galahad was in, her look changed to that of horror.

"Oh Kami! What has happened to you? Come inside!" She said. Galahad stepped through the door and immediately made his way to the bathroom.

"Hurry and call for help, I am about to give out." He said as he headed upstairs. Souta was just coming out of his room when he saw Galahad. He shrieked and ran up to him. "Get out of my way! I have to do something before I bleed to death!" The little boy nodded and stepped away, the look of shock still on his face.

Galahad stepped into the bathroom and stood over the tub. He popped the seals that held his breast plate on and pulled it free. Blood gushed from his armor all over the bath tub and into the floor. Galahad sat down and pulled the rest of his armor off, working delicately when he came to his left arm. When Mrs.Higurashi stepped into the doorway of the bathroom, she gasped and cupped her hands over her mouth at seeing the extent of Galahad's injuries.

"W-What happened to you?" She stammered.

"I was attacked, and I am unable to heal myself. If they ask you about me, say that I am a scientist and that there was a lab explosion. If they ask where it is at say that it is in a underground facility. Now I need some medical supplies. Hurry, there is not much ti-" Galahad's speech became slow and he slumped over onto the floor, unconscious from blood loss. Mrs. Higurashi picked him back up and called to Gramps to get the first aid kit. As the ambulance made it's way over, Mrs. Higurashi did her best to patch Galahad's wounds up. Souta ran around, his adrenaline pumped fear making him hyper. He kept babbling to himself, and sobbing loudly, he was scared Galahad was going to die.

The paramedics arrived and strapped Galahad to a stretcher. Mrs. Higurashi followed them outside and into the waiting ambulance, telling of his condition and asking whether he would make it.

"I don't know ma'am. In his current condition it looks grim. I'd say he's lost about 40 of his blood. If he doesn't get blood soon, there's no way he'll live. He might make it if the ER quickly gets things straight." One of the paramedics said. Mrs. Higurashi didn't want to just sit by during this, so she rode with them off to the hospital.

Souta stood at the living room window and watched them load up the unconscious Galahad and drive off. He would have gone up to his room and sobbed for a hour, but he was rooted to the spot. His anxiety over what he had just seen was taking its toll on him. Souta couldn't even think straight, and he found it hard to breathe. He continued to stare out the window as Grampa cleaned the bloody mess out of the bathroom.

_-_

Deep within a cave somewhere on Mt. Hakurei, Naraku was pacing around, deep in thought. The massive, earthshaking explosion he had observed several hours earlier through Kanna's mirror had been fairly close by and had caused Mt. Harkurei to vibrate some. He knew that the strangely armored foreigners had been involved in it, as he had observed through Kanna's mirror both of them enter a cave at the base of the plateau shaped mountain. It had been a little while after that the explosion that tore the same mountain asunder had come. The event had answered some of Naraku's questions, but left him with others.

Naraku had just finished building his new body a few weeks earlier when Kagura had first reported sights of the new, strange oni after returning from one of her patrols. He had sent some saimyoushou out afterwards to find these oni so he could see them himself via Kanna's mirror. When they had finally found one, one that had a goat's head and legs, but the torso and arms of a man, he had been honestly surprised to see that the aura of the oni was even darker than his own. Later, he had watched that same oni be defeated at the hands of InuYasha and his group, but not die. This had intrigued him. He had decided afterwards that he would stay in hiding a little while longer and see how this new development would play out, and had quietly and indiscreetly been observing all the new developments over the past few weeks.

The foreigner in silver armor had troubled him greatly. At first when he had seen the strange human with InuYasha and his companions, it had not concerned him that much. That view changed immediately however after he had observed the human on his own take out fifteen of the strange oni once when they had attacked the old village of Kikyo's that InuYasha now called home. After that, Naraku had put a stop to Kagura and Kohaku's daily patrols around the mountain to eliminate even the remotest possibility of InuYasha and his group finding out about this mountain. The last thing he had needed was for them to show up with that foreigner. Naraku had breathed a sigh of relief when he had seen the foriegner then leave and go off on his own, but Naraku had still kept an eye on him. His suspicions about the silver-clad foreigner's powers had been confirmed later when the foreigner had had a run in with Kikyo.

The black clad one, meanwhile, Naraku had enjoyed watching. Naraku had seen him first, shortly after Kagura's initial contact with the oni. He had at first thought about how to possibly try and get the black-clad one, who seemed to be the complete opposite of the one in silver, under his control and to do his bidding. If he could've managed to do that, Naraku knew it would've then been child's play using him to finally dispose of InuYasha, his companions, and Kikyo, and the Fallen probably would have succeeded too. Naraku had dispensed with that idea however, when further observations told him that this one had his own vendetta of unleashing as many of those oni onto the world as possible. His most recent incarnation, the Minotaur, had been slain by the Fallen one when he had gone out to harvest some holy power from the monks. Seeing the Fallen use his Soul Cube on the Minotaur had made Naraku smile, and decide at that point he would not interfere in the Fallen's plans. He would instead just sit back and wait, and see if the Fallen one could succeed in unknowingly destroying InuYasha for him. Last night's developments however had now changed things.

_'So, the silver one had a grudge it seems with the black one. It doesn't matter now, they're both dead. No mortal could have survived an explosion like that. Its a shame though that I won't get to see the black one use that strange cube of his on InuYasha and his party.'_ Naraku thought, as he continued to pace around. _'Still, what sort of power could have unleashed such a destructive event as that explosion?'_ Naraku wanted an answer to this question. He stopped pacing and began to make his way to the room in his new cavern headquarters that Kagura had set up as her room. He entered, and saw that Kagura was sitting on the floor doing her nails. She looked up at him as he entered, and scowled at him.

"Kagura, I believe it is now safe for you to resume your daily patrols." Naraku then began.

"Get to the point, Naraku. What do you need me to do?" Kagura then asked in an annoyed voice.

"That tremendous explosion that occurred last night. I want you to head out to the site of it and investigate for any sort of strange artifacts you can find. Those two mortals who fought at that mountain couldn't have summoned that much destructive energy on their own. Something else must have caused it, and I want to know what it was. The saimyoushou will lead you there."

Kagura simply nodded and then left the room. Naraku meanwhile made his way to Kanna's room. She was just simply sitting on the floor as usual, staring off into space, and he motioned to her to follow him. She got up without hesitation and followed him back to his main chamber.

_'One other thing I want to know is if any of the black one's oni are still out and about. With the black one now gone, I now have to go back to being pro-active about killing InuYasha. Using those oni will hopefully make things a little easier.'_ Naraku thought, as he sent two groups of saimyoushou out. One group would lead Kagura to the wreckage of the Fallen's former HQ, while the other would go and scout for a powerful one of the Fallen's Hellish oni.

_-_

"InuYasha, hold still! You're only making this harder!" Kagome then said as she was trying to rebandage up InuYasha's foot.

"Keh! Come on! It doesn't hurt as much as it did before." the agitated hanyou replied.

"Listen, mister. Your demonic healing is strong, but it still needs help for this injury. That shield cut your foot all the way down to bone. That walk back wore all the gauze off it. If you don't let me tape it up again, it'll get infected, demon healing or not, then it will REALLY hurt! Besides, if you don't hold still I'll just say the 'o' word and have Miroku put a sutra on you to keep you from moving." Kagome then said calmly.

"Keh!" InuYasha grunted, then holding still for her. Instead of being in Kaede's hut, they were instead in one of the huts that had been vacated recently when the villager living in it had been killed from the oni attack a few weeks earlier that Galahad had fought off. After she finished, something happened that left InuYasha growling fiercely at Kagome. Miroku came in and rapidly placed special sutras on both of InuYasha's legs, immobilizing them! "Hey, what the hell's this all about!" InuYasha then yelled at the monk.

"Kagome doesn't want you walking around for the next few days so that bandage will stay on there. The sutras are the only way to enforce that, because she needs to go home to get supplies." Miroku then said.InuYasha then growled at Kagome.

"I think the real reason for this was to keep me from coming and getting you, right?" he then said, agitated.

"That had something to do with it too, yes." She then said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and started to leave. "Miroku, you can take the sutras off after two and a half days." she then said to the monk as she walked out. InuYasha again growled at her as she left.

Kagome then began the trek back to the well, as dusk began to fall. She made it to the well without incident, and jumped in, the time slip receiving her. On the other side, she climbed up the ladder to the top. It was on the steps leading out of the well house that she first noticed the blood.

"What's this blood? Could this be InuYasha's? Oh crap. He must have somehow broke the sutras and snuck off when Miroku wasn't looking, and now he's got his foot bleeding again." She then said. She exited the well house and noticed the blood trail continued, but this time something caught her eye. The splotches weren't glossy, indicating that it had dried. "What? It's dry? Blood can't dry that fast. That means it can't be InuYasha's. If it's not his, then who's is it?" She then began to think. After a moment or so, a sense of dread began to come over her. "The only other person who can travel through the well is…OH NO! GALAHAD!" she shouted. She dropped her pack right then and ran to the house, and flung open the door. "Galahad! Where are you?" she shouted. Just then, Mrs. Higurashi came into the kitchen from the living room.

"Oh, Kagome! Your home!" she then said.

"Mama! What happened? Where's Galahad?" Kagome then asked frantically.

"He's at the hospital. He staggered in last night and must have been in some kind of serious fight or something and was hurt very badly. He told me to call the paramedics as soon as he had stumbled in, then he went to the bathroom to get his armor off." Mrs. Higurashi then said, putting her arms around her distraught daughter to comfort her.

"Is he…?" Kagome then asked, starting to sob.

"No, he's not. He's alive, but in pretty bad shape. They got him to the hospital in time, but he's in intensive care in stable condition."

"Can we go see him?"

"No, the doctors said that he needs rest right now. But I need you right now to go upstairs and try to comfort your brother. He was completely shell shocked last night about seeing Galahad like that, and didn't get any sleep. Go." Mrs. Higurashi then said. Kagome stopped her sobbing and nodded at her, then a light bulb went on in her head.

"Mama, just got a better idea. I can't believe I'm going to do this, but I think it's the best way to get Sota out of his doldrums." Kagome then said. She then opened the door and ran back to the well house, flung open the door, and jumped back in. She climbed back out on the other side quicker than she ever had and then began to run all the way back to the village. She sprinted up to the hut, andquickly went in, finding Miroku still there keeping an eye on InuYasha.

"Miroku, take off the sutras." she then ordered.

"What? I thought you said-" Miroku was cut off.

"I don't care. Take them off. Change of plans. InuYasha, come on. You're needed back at my house. Move it mister!" Kagome then rapidly snapped out.

"Keh! Too lonely there without me or something?" InuYasha smirked as Miroku removed the sutras.

"No, it's not that. An unexpected development, that's what. I'll tell you on the way. Now come on, double time it too the well!" she then said after they were outside and she'd climbed on his back. InuYasha then took off. His foot still hurt him, but he ignored it as he bounded from treetop to treetop, Kagome telling him about the latest developments.

"Dammit! I figured that Galahad would wind up biting off more than he could chew! Looks like he ran into the maniac, and almost got himself killed in the process! He should've let us follow him!" InuYasha growled as he leaped into the well. On the other side, Kagome got off InuYasha's back and led the way into the house. Mrs. Higurashi smiled when she saw Kagome come back in with InuYasha in tow.

_'Good thinking Kagome.'_ she thought as they moved past her and up the stairs to Sota's room. Inside they saw Sota sitting on the floor, quivering still from the sight of seeing Galahad the night before.

"Oi kid. What's going on?" InuYasha then asked down at him.

"Si…sis? Is Galahad…de…dead?" Sota then managed to sputter out.

"No he ain't Sota, he's just hurt real bad. He's in the intensive care unit at the hospital." Kagome then said. InuYasha then walked up right next to Sota.

"Sota, you're really getting on my nerves at the moment, looking like somebody just took everything that was dear to you. I thought you were stronger than that. You got nothing to be sad about. When I was your age, I really did have _nothing._ My mom had just died, leaving me with nothing, and I moped too for a while, but I didn't let it get to me, 'cause if I did, I would've gotten killed. Now look at you. You've lost nothing. If Galahad dies, it don't mean much, even though you see him the same way you see me, 'cause you still got your family. Now quit crying and act like the man you are going to be someday." InuYasha then finished, then held out his hand to him. Sota looked up and saw the smirk/smile on InuYasha's face, and his face brightened up a little. He took InuYasha's hand and stood up.

"You're right InuYasha. I'm letting this get the better of me. You, sis, mom, and gramps are still here. They're more important. I'm acting like a groupie when they're favorite band breaks up." Sota then said.

"Now that's the kind of attitude I like to see." InuYasha then said. Kagome then spoke up.

"Sota, would you still like to maybe go to the hospital to see him anyway?"

"Yeah, just to see for myself that he's alright. You think he'd be awake?" Sota then answered.

"Probably not. The doctors said that he needs rest more than anything right now, so he probably won't."

"InuYasha, please come along too." Sota then asked.

"Ah, what the heck. Might as well. Looks like I might be stuck here for awhile to help keep you company anyway." the hanyou then said. He looked out the window and saw the sun dip below the horizon as night came.

"We'll be going tomorrow then." They heard Mrs. Higurashi say from the doorway, looking in on them. "InuYasha, thanks a lot for your help. He'd been like that all through the night and today." she then said.

"Hey InuYasha, how about I show you a racing game on my PS2? We won't be playing long anyway, I'm pretty tired." Sota then said as he reached down and turned the video game system on. InuYasha looked at Kagome like he was going to say no, but Kagome blinked at him and gave him a pleading look.

"Okay kid. Just don't beat my pants off this time." InuYasha then said with a sigh as he sat down and picked up a controller. Kagome and her mother than left the room. The game didn't last long. InuYasha was confused at first seeing the cars in it, but got used to them. After an hour or so, Sota said he was too tired to keep playing, turned off the game, and then went to bed. InuYasha then left the house and jumped up into Goshinboku for the night.


	9. Chapter 9

Futuristic Warrior from the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter IX

Galahad awoke to find that he was completely numb. His vision was slightly blurred, and his movements were a little sluggish. He was sitting in a white bed in the middle of a white room. Sunlight flooded the room from a window to his right. He was wearing a light colored and thin gown on his body, his chest wrapped up heavily in gauze and tape, while a fiberglass cast covered his left arm from the elbow to the knuckles. There was two hoses attached to him, an IV to his right forearm and a blood bag connected to his left bicep. _'I feel very strange, my eyesight is out of focus, and I cannot feel my body.'_ Galahad thought. He started to sit upright when a nurse walked in.

"Good lord! How are you even conscious!" She said, pushing him back down.

"What… have you… done to me?" Galahad said, rather slowly.

"We figured you would be in a lot of pain after we did surgery on your puncture wound, so we gave you sedatives so you would sleep longer. Apparently it didn't work."

"Yes… it did. I can't… feel anything." Galahad managed to say.

"Obviously you don't need anything right now, so I leave you alone." She walked out of the room, stopping to look him over again just to make sure.

Galahad slowly sat back up and looked out the window. The large skyscrapers of the city loomed everywhere, shining in the bright noon sunlight. A glint of light caught Galahad in the eyes, and he suddenly went into a flashback.

_"He is a strange looking specimen, agree?" A voice said. _

_"His pigmentation flaw has nothing to do with his ability. From what the bio scans say, he is the most physically perfect of all of our specimens yet." Another voice replied._

_"Yes, but what of his spirit? Could he turn like a few of the others? His skill could mean nothing if it is in the hands of Lucifer." The original voice said._

_"Do not worry, I will see to it that he will become the best yet. Get him out, awaken him." A new voice said. _

_All of a sudden the seals to Galahad's dream world split apart, revealing a bright light. Galahad fell out of the open holding tube and into the padded arms of a machine. As Galahad opened his eyes, the clarity of the world was revealed._

_He was in a chair of some sort, naked, and covered in a strange red fluid. There were scanners and beams passing over his pale skinned body, checking again for any malfunctions. A man with bright blonde hair and deep green eyes stood next to him, garbed in an armor suit of gold. _

_"Get up Galahad, your time of service has begun." The man said, reaching out for Galahad's hand. Galahad cautiously grabbed it and was yanked out of the chair to his feet. _

_"Galahad? Is that my given name?" Galahad said._

_"Yes, for you are now a soldier of Yahweh, and you will serve Him until death and beyond. Follow me, we need to suit you up and begin your training." The man turned and started walking, Galahad following. He issued Galahad a suit of silver armor with a bare topped helmet. He showed Galahad how to put it on then gave him his weapons. "Now, report to the training center. Follow the signs, I will be along shortly."_

_"Sir?" The man stopped. "May I know the name of the man I follow?" Galahad asked. _

_"I am called Saladin." The man stepped up to a door, opened it, revealing golden sunshine and the green fields of Eden, and then disappeared. As the door shut, Galahad seemed to fade out and back to reality._

As Galahad came out of his dream state, he noticed that InuYasha, wearing a baseball cap, Kagome, Souta, and Mrs. Higurashi all standing around his bed.

"Hello? Earth to Galahad? Are you there?" Kagome said, waving the palm of her hand in front of his still glazed eyes. Galahad blinked once and looked up at her.

"Kagome, what the hell did they do to him?" InuYasha asked her.

"They must have loaded him up with painkillers. That's why he seems so out of it." she replied.

"Now, wait a minute. I'm not _that_ far out of it. They've wore off some." Galahad said.

"What the heck was that massive explosion about?" InuYasha then asked.

"Hmm, straight to the point. That was Romulus' fusion cannon detonating."

"Its good to see you awake Galahad. So that's the maniac's name? Romulus?" Kagome said.

"Yes, but I failed in trying to eliminate him. I did put him out of commission for a time however. I left him in even worse shape than I am."

"And that explosion, it wasn't an atomic bomb, right? Please say it wasn't." Kagome continued.

"We haven't used such crude atomic weaponry since the development of the fusion cannon. It fires a projectile of seething hot hydrogen, which within a certain time frame it fuses and detonates. It leaves no radioactive residue, even when set to overcharge. That's what Romulus had set that particular one to do. He tried blowing up his HQ in an attempt to kill me, but it didn't work."

"How the heck did Romulus get out in time himself? It looks like you barely even made it." InuYasha asked.

"He used a strange, demonic teleportation device. It does not matter right now anyway. He will not re-surface for awhile."

"Guess this means maybe we can get back to hunting Naraku then." InuYasha said, rubbing his chin a little.

"You will have to be on the lookout for his oni however. Even though his Summoning Circle is gone for now, I saw evidence that he had brought many more through before I found it. InuYasha, what is the greatest enemy you have ever defeated?" Galahad asked seriously.

"A giant dragon youkai named Ryuukotsusei. My old man had sealed him at the cost of his own life. I had to kill him to make my sword easier to wield again after it had to be repaired, and had to lean a new technique, the Bakuryuuha, to finally destroy him." InuYasha then briefly described the Bakuryuuha.

"You will be sufficient for the Puppet Masters and Keepers of Secrets, but not for the Bloodthirsters and the Cyberdemon Lords. But be wary of the Puppet Masters. They can control your friends up until the point of the demon's death." Galahad said sternly.

"How do I tell the difference then?"

"It is difficult with the Puppet Masters, they take many forms, most commonly a black robed wraith. The Keepers of Secrets also take different forms, but their trademarks are pinkish skin and dark blue horns. If you ever see a Bloodthirster, it will have the appearance of a Baron of Hell, but quintupled in size. They have giant wings to fly, and wield either a whip and an axe, or two swords. I doubt that your techniques would even harm the Bloodthirsters."

"Wow, Galahad, you've seen all these things?" Souta then spoke up.

"Yes, but I was not alone. The only reason we brought them down was by the combined might of many Soul Cubes. Before that, a Bloodthirster could take a direct hit in the chest from a fusion cannon and fight on." Everybody else's eyes bugged out.

"Okay, I think I've heard enough of this. I don't want to hear anymore." Mrs. Higurashi then said, starting to pale in the face, then continued. "Galahad, have they told you yet how long they expect you to be in here?"  
"I expect to leave today, whether they allow it or not."

"I don't think that's a good idea. They may just call the police and have them try to drag you back here. If you try to resist, they may just shoot you. You don't need to be causing trouble with the authorities in this era." Kagome then said.

"What makes you think they'll even be able to see me? To them, I'll just 'disappear'. Believe me, I may just be sitting in a hospital bed, but I still have plenty of abilities. I will say though, I need clothing first." Galahad said.

"We'll handle that. Come, I think we need to leave." Mrs. Higurashi then said, and she motioned for the others to follow her as they exited the room and began to make their way to the lobby. After they left, Galahad then got up out of bed, and, pulling the IV stand with him, he stood in front of the bed, directly across from the door. He was waiting for the doctor to talk to him about when he was going to leave.

_-_

During the ride back to the shrine, Kagome was in deep thought.

_'Well, what now? Maybe InuYasha has some idea of where to look for Naraku next.'_ she thought. _'Might as well ask.'_

"InuYasha, where are we going to go look for Naraku next?"

"Actually, Kagome, we're not going after Naraku again yet. We need to do something about your lack of weaponry other than your arrows. Remember when I said I want to go see Totosai about making you a weapon infused with your miko powers? That's what I want to do next. If he can't do that, then maybe he can modify the Tetsusaiga to where you can charge it up with your miko energy without it hurting me and causing it to transform back. Keh, think I'll ask him to do that anyway, whether he can make you a weapon or not. Those oni Galahad described tell me I've got to be able to charge up my sword easily with your powers like you did when I killed the shield-using Baron that last time. If I use the Bakuryuuha powered up like that, I might just be able to prove Galahad wrong." InuYasha then said with a smug grin.

"InuYasha, why do you think Kagome needs another weapon? She's showed me how good she is with a bow and how powered up her arrows are. She's become a reasonably good shot." Mrs. Higurashi said from the driver's seat of the car, not taking her eyes off the road.

"She's become a good shot, yeah. But what is she going to do when she runs out of arrows for that bow, huh? That's what happened in the last battle we were in. We got surrounded by a bunch of undead soldiers. Her arrows disintegrated them, but there were more undead than she had arrows. Only when she pumped some of her miko energy into my sword were we able to finish them all off. Giving her a backup weapon will allow her to defend herself when her arrows run out." InuYasha explained.

"Oh, now I see. When are you two planning to leave to see this Totosai? And who is he anyway?"

"He's the old smith who originally forged the Tetsusaiga. We're leaving after Kagome gets her stuff together."

"Hey sis. After you come back with your new weapons, could you teach me how to use them too?" Souta asked excitedly.

"No. You can forget about that." Kagome said sternly. Souta then let out a depressed sigh.

The rest of the trip back was uneventful. Kagome, much to InuYasha's agitation, spent two hours getting her pack ready to go. It was late afternoon when her and InuYasha finally jumped back down into the well.

_-_

Galahad was still standing and waiting when the doctor stepped in. He was looking down at a clipboard and almost bumped into Galahad, looking up into his face from about a foot away.

"Oh! Kami you scared me!" The doctor lurched backwards. "How are you awake, much less standing? Considering the amount of morphine I gave you, you should be like a zombie right now."

"I'm different than most people. Now, I want to leave. Where are my clothes?" Galahad asked.

"Wait a minute, what makes you think you are leaving? In your current condition, you shouldn't even be standing, you are taking huge risks." The doctor said.

"Mind you that I had to walk many miles in a worse condition than this. Now that you have sealed up my stab wound, I think I can leave."

"Do you have any idea how easily you could reopen that wound?"

"Yes, I do."

"I doubt that. Besides, you lost some 40-50 percent of your blood. If you went out now, you would get about fifty paces out and pass out."

"That's why you gave me an infusion while I slept."

"Considering how long you've had that, I'd say you got maybe 10-20 percent back. I don't think that's enough." Just as the doctor finished the words Galahad swiftly moved up and picked him up by the throat. The doctor gave out a mangled gasp as Galahad held him.

"Doubt me now? I have the strength to heave you out the window if I wanted to. So you better be glad I won't." Then Galahad slowly lowered him to the floor. The doctor stood and gasped for air, but managed to speak.

"All right, you can leave, just be careful. Your clothes are in a cabinet over there." Galahad stepped past him and went to the closet. As he opened it, he felt something sharp prick him in the shoulder. He whipped around. The doctor held a strange looking gun.

"You! I should… h.u.r..t... y..o..u…" Galahad went numb again and began to collapse. The doctor caught him.

"Nurse! I got him under control, now help me get him back into the bed. He may be able to withstand sedatives, but not tranquilizers. He's crazy to think he can just walk out after four hours of patching his insides back together." The nurse and the doctor began to carry the unconscious Galahad back to his bed. "But I'll check him over tomorrow, and if he's in good condition, we'll let him go, but I want him under careful watch all day and tonight just in case he tries this again. If you have to, strap him to the bed."

_-_

"So we're going to take Galahad shopping today?" Souta asked. They were in Mrs. Higurashi's car, headed to the hospital.

"Yes, Souta, if the doctors let us. I need you to help him out though, you know, get him in style." Mrs. Higurashi said. Souta's face split in a wide grin, he would enjoy this. They parked at the hospital and made their way up to Galahad's room, where once again, they found him awake, but standing and wearing his trademark black shorts. He looked funny, shirtless, his chest wrapped in gauze and wearing that thick cast around his left arm, but that same rock hard, defiant look was on his face. The doctor was just stepping away from him.

"So, I guess that the doctors said that you could go today." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Yes, but I had to prove it to them." Galahad said, the doctor walked in.

"Yeah, by snapping the industrial grade belts we used to tie him down with. I said 'If he can do that, while injured, then I see no harm in letting him go.' But I managed to convince him to wait until you showed up." Both Mrs. Higurashi's and Souta's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

"So it's true about what Kagome said about you." Mrs. Higurashi said. Galahad eyed the doctor carefully before speaking.

"And what would that be?" Galahad asked.

"She said that you once flung InuYasha across a fifty foot room. Now I believe her when she said you were strong." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"_Now _I'm leaving, right?" Galahad said, looking at the doctor.

"Yes, but come back in a week. I might have to pull those staples out then. You might want to wear this shirt, I don't think walking around in Tokyo bare-chested is a good idea." The doctor said, flinging a plain white T-shirt at Galahad, who caught it and pulled it on. After Galahad, Souta, and Mrs. Higurashi walked out the door, the doctor looked back at his notes.

"This man is very interesting. He has blood type O, the rarest blood type, then he's albino, which is extremely rare. The fact that he looks like someone from Germany or Great Britain means nothing. But the more interesting facts are that his eyesight is 20/10, and he has the strength of about five people, not to mention that he can resist sedatives and other drugs rather well. Could this be the next step in human evolution, or is he someone special, a genetic rarity, or is he different somehow. My guess is he is the sad aftermath of a illegal genetic engineering experiment, and his aggressive nature is from being abused at a young age. Either way, I have to know more about this man called Galahad." The doctor read to himself.

Galahad was once again reminded of the cities of his past time as he made his way onto the parking lot. He was surprised when he found the blacktop on which the cars sat was really, REALLY HOT, and he literally sprinted from one shadow to another, mumbling curses to himself in his native tongue.

"In my day, we used materials that were more 'user friendly' than you people. I wish you'd come up with something that does not scorch so bad as this material." Galahad said as he climbed into the passenger seat of Mrs. Higurashi's car.

"All right. Souta, where are we headed?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"To the mall on the east side. There's stores there that have stuff that would suit Galahad perfectly!" Souta said, barely able to contain his excitement.

"What about shoes, I can't fight oni if my feet are burned badly in this time." Galahad said.

"We must get Galahad shoes first, there might be some places he can't go without them." Mrs. Higurashi added. Galahad looked around to see all the sights of so many cars and people roaming the streets, weaving around amongst the tall buildings. It reminded him so much of past days, that it filled his heart with remorse for ever being awakened and dragged into the modern world. Souta was looking at him as Galahad seemed to drift off, his eyes wandering from one building to another.

"Hey, why the long face? You're out of the hospital, and were going to spice you up for the chicks! What more could you want?" Souta said, trying to be optimistic.

"What? Oh, just thinking of past days. In the few Eden cities that I saw that were not destroyed there was unparalleled beauty. All the buildings were taller, and glistening white. The people moved about with smiles and with a grace that these modern people do not have. Is it that they do not live in the light of Yahweh? All I see is sadness and sullen faces. Can you explain why these people don't see the good in life?" Galahad said, still staring. Souta just stared at Galahad, at a loss for words.

"Galahad, it sounds very pleasant to live in your times. But these are our times, and people are so caught up in their daily life that they worry over things that I know would not matter to you. They commit suicide because they lose their job, when they should worry about where their soul goes after they fling themselves off a skyscraper. I don't understand it very well either Galahad, but try to look for people who enjoy life, there out there. You just got to look hard." Mrs. Higurashi said. Galahad looked over at her. She had spat out that amazing explanation without taking her eyes off the road. He then looked down at his feet.

"You're right, I guess I worry over something I have no control over." His expression suddenly brightened. "All right, Souta, you ready to prepare me for my greatest challenge yet?"

"Yeah! I'll turn you into a chick magnet!" Galahad looked confused over the term, but grinned anyway.

Not long after Galahad had his remedy of the past, they pulled into the parking lot to the mall. Once again Galahad had to move quickly from shadow to shadow as he crossed the parking lot, once inside, the group discreetly hid the fact that Galahad had no shoes. They made their way to the shoe store, and started figuring out what Galahad's size was. He chose a pair of black tennis shoes.

"Why something so drab? We could get something that looks a lot cooler." Souta said.

"How often do you even take notice of someone's feet? Not very often. So why does it matter?" Galahad replied.

"Never thought of it that way." Souta said, looking down at his own feet in wonder.

After Galahad's feet were properly shod, they moved on to a designer clothes store. Where Mrs. Higurashi and Souta had the difficult task of making Galahad try on some twenty different styles of clothing. They came to the conclusion that Galahad looked best dressed simply, appearing as an average Joe, though the white hair and massive cast on his left arm made it seem a little odd.

"Well, what do you think?" Souta said.

"It's going to take time to used to these clothes, they feel baggy on me."

"That's the way they are supposed to be!"

"But going from a skin tight, one piece when assembled, total body covering armored suit to these 'blue jeans' is quite a change." Galahad said.

"Well you look great Galahad. You look just like someone from America or Europe." Mrs. Higurashi said. Galahad's brow furrowed.

"America? Europe? Never mind, I just need to catch up on about 6,000 years after cryogenic slumber. Well, is that everything? Or is there something we missed?" Galahad said.

"No, but there is some things we need to get. Come on, lets go somewhere else." Mrs. Higurashi said. They left the store, carrying bags of clothes, when Mrs. Higurashi suddenly smiled and called out to a group of three girls. "Yuki! Eri! Ayumi! Hi!" The three girls turned and looked over at them, their eyes falling to rest on Galahad.

"Mrs. Higurashi? Who are these people?" Galahad asked as the girls walked up to them. Souta gave a slight sigh.

"They are Kagome's friends. They don't know about InuYasha, so don't reveal a lot." Souta said.

"Hi Mrs. Higurashi, who's this with you?" Eri asked.

"This is one of Kagome's other friends, Galahad." She motioned to Galahad, who gave a low bow.

"Wait a minute, is he Kagome's boyfriend? I've never met him." Yuki said, eyeing Galahad over.

"No, I am just a friend. I moved here from America." Galahad said, lying coolly.

"Really? I knew you were a foreigner. What part of America?" Eri said. Her and Yuki continued to eye him with disbelief while the third that had not spoken yet, Ayumi, goggled at him.

"The eastern part. Hot, and full of low mountains." Galahad said, not really knowing what he was talking about.

"Interesting. So why are you with Kagome's mom and Souta instead of Kagome?" Yuki asked.

"I'm going to be staying with them for a while. There was an accident where I used to live, leaving me like this." Galahad said, motioning to his arm. At the sight of the white cast on his arm, belief seemed to come to their eyes.

"Yes, and he's very smart too. He plans to tutor Kagome and Souta to try to improve their grades." Mrs. Higurashi, her face reflecting pride.

"Hey, my grades aren't bad!" Souta protested.

"But Galahad is going to turn you into a genius, so you can make a name for the Higurashi family." Mrs. Higurashi said, causing Galahad's head to sink.

"So you know Kagome. How is her and her boyfriend doing? Good I hope." Ayumi asked.

"It is rather funny, actually." The three girl's expressions took one of shock. "No really, they argue a lot over things that don't really matter. But how it usually ends is the best. Kagome can subdue her boyfriend with one word. He always gets mad, but there is nothing he can do." Galahad said, a smile formed on his face.

"So they argue a lot. But Kagome always wins. This could run into trouble." Eri said.

"Not always, he can convince her of some things, if he uses the right means. They get along fine, other than that."

"What about your hair, did you dye it?" Ayumi said, looking at Galahad's silvery white hair.

"No, it is actually natural. I am albino." Their eyes widened at that.

"What? Why don't you have pink eyes?" Yuki said.

"Well it is more of a birth defect, not a inherited gene. So I would look more normal if there was not so many complications in my birth. That's why my eyes are blue, instead of pink." Galahad said.

"We'll we'd better go, I have to get some shampoo and other things for back at the house." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"What do you know! We have to go there too!" Eri said. The others looked at her funny, but seemed to play along.

"Good, then you and Galahad can get to know each other more." Mrs. Higurashi said. Her and Souta walked ahead, while Galahad and Eri, Yuki, and Ayumi followed. First thing they started interrogating him.

_'I have been betrayed. Why must I deal with these girls? Why did you let them come with us, Mrs. Higurashi ?' _Galahad thought.

"So tell us more about you. You look older than Hojo." Yuki said.

"I am 21 years old, and I used to live alone, till the place kinda set on fire and fell apart. I used to be a military officer, but that life was very harsh."

"Military? What branch?" Ayumi asked.

"Special forces, otherwise top secret." They all looked at him with surprise.

"Okay. How did you meet Kagome?" Eri asked.

"Well, it started when her boyfriend attacked me." Eri and Yuki seemed to expect something like that. "But I beat him into submission and he has not touched me since."

"What do you think of Kagome?" Eri asked, her eyes cold and searching.

"She's nice, and gets along with me well. But in the subject I know you are getting to, no. I am quite a bit older than her, but I will stand up for her and defend her. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go back to the car, I seemed to have forgotten something." Galahad said. He did an about face and started back toward the other end of the mall. To his despair, they followed. He did not want to charge his equilibrium, but in a crowd of black hair and his white there was no way for him to sneak away.

_'I hate doing this.'_ Galahad thought as he charged up his equilibrium. He worked quickly with everything slowed down, going as far as he thought safe before slowing himself down. He actually went out to the car and put away his things, and made his way secretly to the place that Mrs. Higurashi had said she needed to go. He found her and Souta there, Souta obviously bored and Mrs. Higurashi seeming to look at everything there was.

"You gotta help me Galahad. Mom won't get out of here and Kagome's friends are somewhere nearby, looking for you. They asked me where you went and I gave them and I just named a place. They also bugged me about what I knew about you." Souta said, tiredness in his voice.

"You didn't tell anything about me, did you?" Galahad said.

"No, I did say you were a martial arts expert. One of them seems to like you." Souta said, a grin coming to his face.

"Great. Next thing they'll be calling your house asking for me, wanting to talk more. I ain't looking for a girlfriend either, and I don't think I ever will." Galahad said, turning his attention to the outside of the store.

"What do you mean? You don't wanna get married or anything?" Souta said.

"Souta, I have seen horrors that do not need to be spoken of again. Not to mention that I pledged to serve Yahweh until death. I don't think that anyone would be able to fully understand me." Galahad said.

"Kagome understands you, don't she?" Souta asked.

"That's because she has seen strange things, and is used to it. But she doesn't know everything, and I plan to see to it that no one will." Galahad said.

"You want to live alone until the day you die?"

"Yes, that is my wish. I am a servant until I fall, there is no room for a family." Galahad turned from the child and went to his mother. He persuaded her into leaving, and they made their escape. Galahad did not rest easy until they pulled into the Temple Grounds.


	10. Chapter 10

Futuristic Warrior from the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter X

_Authors' Note - Wakizashi: Smaller, shorter version of a katana._

"InuYasha, just what kind of weapon did you have in mind for Totosai to make for me?" Kagome asked as her and InuYasha touched down on Kiara in front of Totosai's combination bone hut and forge.

"Something extremely light and easy for you to swing. You don't have the strength that I do." InuYasha said as they approached the entrance. They heard the sounds of clanging from within and, looking in, saw Totosai at work putting the finishing touches on a recent customer's sword. "Hey Totosai, you busy?" InuYasha then asked. Totosai looked up from the sword he was working on.

"Ah, InuYasha. What brings you here today? Have you somehow managed to damage the Tetsusaiga again?" The old swordsmith then asked in a deflated voice, then looked confused when he saw Kagome. "Oh? Kagome came with you?"

"Yeah, I brought her with me. She's the main reason I'm here. Can you make her a weapon that's light and easy for her to use? It doesn't need to be as strong or as powerful as the Tetsusaiga. It's only gonna be her backup weapon if she runs out of arrows in battle. That happened in the last scrap we were in, and she was left defenseless. Whatever you make, Totosai, she has to be able to focus her miko powers in it." InuYasha got to the point. Totosai looked a little surprised.

"She is a miko? She sure doesn't look like it." he said. InuYasha then bopped him.

"Yes she is one, old man. Come outside and she'll show you." InuYasha and Kagome then led Totosai outside, and Kagome readied her bow, nocking an arrow. "Kagome, what are you going to shoot at?" InuYasha asked.

"A rock about 10 meters away." Kagome said, then releasing the arrow at the intended rock. The arrow then glowed pink as Kagome's miko powers appeared in it, and when it hit the rock, the rock was split in two. Totosai was impressed.

"Not bad young lady. InuYasha, this will be an easy job for me. The first thing I need to do is see if I have a lightweight wakizashi lying around. I'll be back." the old swordsmith went back into his hut. InuYasha and Kagome heard the sounds of things being shuffled around some, then an "Ah, here we go." Totosai came back outside carrying a sheathed wakizashi with a green hilt. "This will be the starting point. Take a look at it Kagome, and see if you like it." Totosai said as he pulled the weapon from the sheath and handed it to her by the hilt. She took the weapon and stood off some from InuYasha and Totosai and started to swing the weapon around to test the heft. The weapon felt effortless in her hands. The blade, and the whole sword itself for that matter, looked brand new, not beat up and old like the Tetsusaiga did in its docile form. After she swung the wakizashi around for a few moments, Kagome walked back up.

"This one will do fine Totosai." she said.

"Good, now the hard part. Come on inside, both of you." Totosai said as he led them both inside of his hut. After InuYasha and Kagome sat down, Totosai went and got a leather band and a knife.

"What are those things for?" InuYaha asked.

"Here, Kagome. Put your hair up into a pony tail. I need some of it." Totosai said, giving Kagome the leather band. Kagome almost fainted and fell over but InuYasha caught her.

"What the hell do you need a lock of her hair for?" InuYasha asked Totosai angrily, bopping him again.

"No way I'm giving you any of my hair mister!" Kagome then said sternly.

" I told you this was going to be the hard part. To make the sword able to focus your miko powers, I need to infuse a specimen into the blade. A lock of your hair will do just fine, and thanks to my skills, I can use the hair to make the blade stronger." Totosai explained. Kagome then looked at him reluctantly, and put her hair up into a pony tail, but putting the band only at the base of her neck. Totosai then took his knife and cut the hair off a few centimeters above the band, leaving Kagome's hair length now just down to her shoulders. It was still just as puffy and bouncy as it was however. Totosai now took the lock of hair over to a bench and poured some strange oils on it to toughen it up, then set to work, taking the now unsheathed wakizashi in one hand, his forging hammer in the other.

Kagome and InuYasha watched as Totosai sat down and pulled a slab of stone over and in front of him and laid the short sword on it. He then used his flame breath to heat the wakizashi up until the dirk was glowing yellow. The weapon was now so hot that both Kagome and InuYasha were feeling heat from it, even though they were five feet from it. After heating the weapon up, Totosai took the lock of hair, took the band off of it, and began to spread the hair over the blade, striking the blade along its length as he went along to force the hair down into the metal. Thanks to the oils he had put on the hair, it didn't burn to ashes as soon it was touching the blade. Totosai worked quickly, finishing with one side and then turning the weapon over and repeating the same process on the other side. When he was finished forging the hair into the blade, he quickly picked the wakizashi up and made his way over to a stone trough filled with cold water and dipped the weapon in it. The water instantly started hissing, steam rising from it.

"Now it needs to stay in there for a minute or so." Totosai said as he walked back over and sat down.

"Totosai, there's another reason why I came here today." InuYasha stated.

"There is? What is it?" the swordsmith asked. InuYasha then unsheathed Tetsusaiga and laid it down. Totosai's face then contorted into one of aggravation. "I should have known. What's wrong with it now?" he then asked, a little irritated.

"Nothing's wrong with it, old man. I need you to make a modification to it." the hanyou said.

"Modification? What sort of modification?"

"In the last battle we were in, I had to fight a new and very evil type of oni. A kind that's never been encountered before until the last few weeks. To defeat it, I had Kagome attempt to charge Tetsusaiga up with her miko power so it would be more effective. It worked, but the sword then constantly tried to transform back and it began to burn my hands while I held it. I had to constantly exert my will on the sword to keep it transformed. I did manage to unleash a Kaze no Kizu charged up like that and destroy the oni, however. I need you to modify Tetsusaiga where Kagome can charge it up without it transforming back and burning my hands." Totosai then began to rub his chin. He then got up and walked over to the trough and retrieved the wakizashi.

"InuYasha, you are asking me to make Tetsusaiga able to resist miko energy without it losing the ability to absorb it. There's only one way I can think of that can do that. Unfortunately, the process may render the Tetsusaiga unable to transform when drawn if it fails. If that happens, I'll have to break the sword apart and start over again with the pieces, using your fangs to reforge it, _and _it would lose its ability to break barriers. Are you sure you want me to do it, InuYasha?" Totosai asked solemnly. InuYasha then let out a huge "Keh!"

"Damn it! So the only way to do it is to risk the sword being damaged irreparably huh? In that case Totosai, then no. I'll just have to deal with the pain and exertion. Give Kagome her weapon then, and we'll get outta here." InuYasha then said, frustrated. Totosai then handed the wakizashi and its sheath to Kagome.

"Test it first, before you leave." He said. Kagome then held the wakizashi in both hands, and concentrated. It then began to glow a bright pink, and a pinkish aura appeared around it!

"It works!" Kagome said, flabbergasted.

"Figured it would." Totosai said.

"Good then. Come on Kagome, we're outta here." InuYasha said. The two then left and Totosai went back to working on another customer's sword.

-

_'I've got to find a way to bust free from Naraku's grasp! I must!'_ Kagura seethed in her thoughts as she followed the saimyoushou along in the sky. Dusk was falling. Kagura, thinking the bugs were leading her nowhere, was about to turn around when the strong smell of ash and sulfur hit her. In the fading light of the day, Kagura saw the glowing up ahead from the blasted crater. As she approached the crater, she gasped in complete shock. One third of the entire mountain was gone. The lava had been cooling for sometime however, so instead of a large pool of glowing red lava, it had been reduced to blackened rock with small rivulets of lava in between. Kagura decided not land anywhere, she would just float around as the heat hit her.

"What could have caused this? Even Sesshomaru is incapable of feats such as this." Kagura said as she floated around. She looked around for a long time, and could find no traces of any sort of strange artifacts or anything. The whole area was just a huge barren hellhole. Sweat had been pouring down Kagura's face when she began to head back to Naraku's castle.

Along the way, she stopped at a cool stream, and started throwing the cold water into her face to cool herself off.

_'If those two foreigners could have done this, they must have had power unheard of in this world, even among the taiyoukai. Damn. They both probably didn't survive that explosion. I wish one of them had. He probably would have been able to bring down Naraku without any problem whatsoever.'_ Kagura thought. She sighed, throwing one more handful of water on her face. She then got back on her feather on continued on back to Mt. Hakurei.

-

Romulus stood on the rocky eastern shore, surrounded by a small pack of elite oni. Under his black armor, some simple bandages covered his injuries. He was mostly healed from absorbing weaker demons and using their life force to heal him. Next to him was an emissary sent from Dante. It had the look of a Baron of Hell, yet it had massive leathery wings and its horns curled straight forward and were longer. It held no weapons in its hands, it made up for it in endurance and the amount of dark energy it could release. It was a Heresy Lord. Out to sea in front of the small band, there sat a small rocky island, and atop it sat a fortress.

"/Well Champion Romulus, what do you think? Is it sufficient for your needs/" The Heresy Lord asked, its deep guttural voice.

"/It is more than what I thought. It is perfect. Now I have more room, and space for defenders just in case I am disturbed in my work./" Romulus said.

"/What of the inhabitants? Do you wish for me to slaughter them/"

"/No. Just round them up and contain them. Kill any who resist. I plan to use them to bring in warriors to defend my new summoning circle./" Romulus said.

"/And what do I get in return/"

"/If you wish, you can seek a domain of your own, and raise an army of undead. But under one condition, you must assist me when I bring the true meaning of war down upon these pitiful mortals. Agreed/" Romulus crossed his arms on his chest and looked at the Heresy Lord. Its smoldering red eyes were slits, as if it was in thought. Romulus was surprised at the intelligence of the demon. It slowly nodded.

"/Yes, that will be suffice. After I am through doing business, I shall set up my own base and keep in contact with you. Now do not be surprised if I make advances to capture territory, since only greater demons can summon, I will need many numbers to make an army of undead useful. But when you need my aid, signal me and I will assist./" The demon said. It motioned to the other Knights, Barons, and a few Blood Letters around it.

_'This is going well, I shall be back in business soon.'_ Romulus thought as the demons began constructing a boat to launch an attack from.

-

Jaken unlocked the gates to the castle, Lord Sesshomaru behind him.

"After you, milord." Jaken bowed after opening the gates as Lord Sesshomaru strolled past in silence. The castle was massive, having been the former headquarters of the Inu no Taisho, Sesshomaru and InuYasha's father. Sesshomaru now strangely found himself now wishing that his father was still alive. His strength and power would now be very useful for taking on the Fallen one.

The explosion had told Sesshomaru that the Fallen was indeed powerful. He had come across a Hell Knight during his return to the castle. It had put up a reasonable challenge, but had been no match for Toukijin. But it had told Sesshomaru that indeed possibly an army of those oni were coming.

"Lord Sesshomaru! You have returned!" One of Sesshomaru's lower dog demon generals said as he approached the front entrance to the central house in the castle.

"Get your officers together and join me in my study. We have much to discuss. Afterward, you will begin to fortify the castle as much as possible." Sesshomaru stated. The general saluted, then proceeded to the barracks as Sesshomaru entered the main part of the castle-mansion.

"Lord Sesshomaru! You didn't forget!" Rin shouted as she ran up and wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru's legs in a loving embrace.

"Rin, I'm afraid you won't be venturing outside the castle walls for some time. There is now a great danger beyond the walls. That is why I sent you back when I did. Now, go off and play, but stay within the walls. I need to have a meeting with my officers." Sesshomaru said, looking down at her.

"Yes milord." Rin said, her smile beaming at him. She then ran off down a nearby hall. Sesshomaru then proceeded to his study, and began writing down his observations of the last few days in a log. The general and his officers joined him a few minutes later.

"You requested our prescence, Lord Sesshomaru?" the general asked.

"Yes. All of you sit down." They did, and Sesshomaru went into detail with what had transpired over the last few days, all of them appalled at the events, especially the explosion.

"So milord, Galahad and the Fallen you believe were behind the explosion?" the general asked.

"Yes. I don't know if the one who calls himself Galahad survived, but I'm certain the Fallen one did. How he did, however, eludes me. In any case, the castle needs to be fortified as much as possible, for the Fallen one seeks to unleash his army of those oni onto this world, and we shall stand against him. Send a messenger to the Lords of the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Lands. I believe petty territorial squabbles must be put aside for this matter." Sesshomaru finished.

"As you wish milord." the general said, bowing. Him and his officers then left and began to carry out Sesshomaru's orders.

-

When Galahad returned to the Higurashi residence, he went about cleaning the large blood stains from the inside of his armor. Once finished, he looked at the shining armor with a look of disdain. There was a large hole in the side where he was punctured, not to mention that his helmet had been incinerated. He didn't have the materials to repair his armor at the moment, or the means to repair them.

_'Very well, I guess I shall spend the remaining hours of daylight in meditation.' _Galahad thought. He went outside onto the temple grounds and sat down across from the temple steps. He sat down and dropped into the realm of the void within his mind.

He must have been sitting for some thirty minutes when he heard small footsteps heading towards him. He heard someone sit down next to him, and Galahad climbed back into reality, opening his eyes. Souta sat next to him, watching him intently.

"What is it child?" Galahad asked.

"I was wondering about earlier today, when you were talking about what people were like in your time. I'd like to know more about how you lived." Souta said, looking at Galahad's feet. Galahad gave a sad smile.

"Well, in my time, the world worked as one. Humanity had not fought itself for over a hundred years, and we were at our technological height. Genetic engineering was being perfected, but only to the degree of preventing life threatening disease. We were also at our spiritual peak, some of our populace ascending into heaven before death. Though the most astounding of things was when Yahweh walked amongst our people. This was many years before my time but I have heard the stories. It was said that he shrouded his face, so no one could see the face of God. And all around him were his Archangels, his divine guardians and most trusted servants. He only met with an spoke to the most pious of people, telling them of what uses that they should put their holiness to. Think of it Souta, getting to meet Yahweh in person, while you still walked amongst the living!" Galahad said. Souta stared at him, utterly astounded.

"Yahweh, you mean God, or the creator of everything, right?" Souta said, Galahad nodded. "Wow. That would be the experience of a lifetime."

"Hey, what are you two doing out here? Its getting kind of dark to be outside isn't it?" Gramps said, walking over to them.

"Galahad was just telling me about what life was like a long time ago, when Yahweh actually talked to people." Souta said.

"Yahweh? Who is Yahweh?" Gramps asked, scratching his head.

"Yahweh is God, the one and only God that created the universe and everything in it." Galahad said, standing up.

"Err, whatever. Well Souta, time to come inside." Gramps said, turning back to the house.

"Why do you brush me aside? Is it because you do not believe me?" Galahad asked, his voice defiant.

"You believe what you want, I'll believe what I want." Gramps said, continuing to walk on to the house. Galahad said nothing.

After Souta went inside, Galahad pulled out his Soul Cube and looked at it. The figurine of Michael stood, legs apart, wings spread, holding his divine sword up as a salute. Galahad sat and stared at the figurine for a long time, thinking.

_'So far there has been little evidence of Yahweh's presence in this time. I have proof that His influence still exists, but not at the degree it once was. What has happened? What caused so many people to be hidden from His light? Is it Lucifer, or humanity's own free will? But I guess I should not worry about it, there is more at stake than that. I plan to quickly recover and prepare to begin hunting the Fallen again, I just hope that there is no greater demons in the world yet.' _Galahad thought. He sat in silence a while longer, then finally stood up as darkness fell. The night seemed darker than normal, the stars blotted out by strange black clouds. Galahad went back inside and went into the living room.

Souta was sitting there, watching what appeared to be a display screen showing some kind of show. There was two figures shouting threats at each other and boasting about their power.

"What is this?" Galahad asked, sitting down on the couch.

"It's a show I watch every now and then." Souta said, going into a brief explanation of the show.

"Not for me. I guess I will try to rest some more." Galahad said. He shifted and laid down on the couch.

"Do you want me to turn it down?"

"No, there's no need." Galahad said. He was almost asleep when he felt something jump up onto his legs and curl up right on his bottom. Galahad twisted and looked back to see Buyo curled up and looking out at him with a pair of green eyes.

"What is that?' Galahad asked, looking at the cat.

"It's just Buyo. He's our cat." Souta said, looking over at Buyo.

"A cat? Is he a pet of some sort?" Souta nodded. "Well if he doesn't bother me I am okay with him sleeping on me." Galahad then un-twisted, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Then the dream began.

_A massed army stood atop a rocky outcrop, overlooking into the valley below. The valley was charred and scorched, destroyed by the wrath of the demons. Galahad stood next to Saladin, his plasma rifle in one hand, his helmet in the other. _

_"Commander, shall we make our stand here?" Galahad asked, looking down into the still burning valley. There was a pause before the golden haired man answered._

_"The high ground gives us an advantage with our guns, and the rocks give cover, but the considering how unstable it is makes close combat unreliable. But it will have to do. Tell the cannon operators to take position there." Saladin said, pointing. "Have the rest of the infantry spread out across the hillside. Well let them come to us, and we will wait until the last minute to charge out and meet them, when the fusion rounds has lowered their numbers. But do not charge until my signal." _

_"Yes sir!" Galahad saluted and started running about, shouting orders to the men. He took a position with his personal men near the base of the hill, and surveyed the valley more closely. From within the rising smoke he could see the red glowing eyes of demons, and hear their grunts and guttural speech. Having surveyed enough, Galahad stepped behind a large boulder and put his helmet on. His men looked about wordlessly, preparing themselves for the coming battle. Above Galahad, he saw Saladin pointing out positions to the fusion cannon operators, who were powering up their weapons. _

_Suddenly a large overwhelming roar spewed up from within the valley. Galahad jumped onto the rock he was behind and readied his plama rifle. His men jumped into positions all around him. _

_"Wait for them. Don't waste ammunition at this distance. Let the Cannoniers do their work and shoot when they get too close. When Saladin gives the call, we charge, so have your close combat weapons ready." Galahad said, looking down the sights to his plasma rifle. Then like water from a breaking dam, the demons surged from within the smoke and ran at the warriors. _

_THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! The thunderclap of the fusion cannons sounded out, sending large red and orange balls of light into the enemy ranks. _

_BWA-BOOM! The fusion rounds exploded, sending demons and scorched chunks of turf into the air. Yet with all the death around them, the demons did not even slow down. As the tidal wave of flesh came closer, the warriors spread out across the hill opened fire, sending amounts of lead, plasma, and depleted uranium into their ranks. The demon's charge slowed and started to falter. They then stopped and took cover in the outcrops around them, returning with heaved balls of fire, plasma, and jets of flame. _

_Galahad rolled out of the way of a searing bolt of red lighting, launched from a Heresy Lord. He heard it strike a soldier behind him, and the soldier's scream as he died. The demons were inching their way closer, heaving large amounts a firepower for each inch. It seemed at the last minute when Galahad saw an icon of a fist appear in his HUD. He shot to his feet and whipped out his gladius._

_"CHARGE!" Galahad shouted at the top of his lungs. Like an avalanche, the silver and golden armored warriors appeared out of the rocks and sprinted down to their foe. The demons did the same, standing up and reading themselves. The two masses collided, the warriors smashing into the demon line. _

_Galahad jumped and took a flying slash as he flew at an Imp. It had little time to react, and was beheaded quickly. Galahad took to staying low and striking upwards as he drew himself inside the defense of each demon he slew. The other warriors like him doing similar, but not with the skill that Galahad possessed. Here and there a warrior fell, accompanied by the corpse of other demons. Galahad was squaring off with the Heresy Lord he saw fry one of his soldiers earlier when he heard the shout._

_"In the name of Yahweh, I WAS BORN FOR DYING!" He heard someone shout, almost screaming. Galahad was about to find who had used the call when some strange noise sounded._

BOOM!

Galahad suddenly awoke, finding the living room dark and empty. Buyo had been awoken and was yawning. Mrs. Higurashi stood with her back to him, looking out a kitchen window. Galahad turned over onto his back and sat up, and Buyo, losing his nice warm bed, leaped off the couch and curled up in a recliner. There was suddenly a flash of white outside, drawing Galahad's attention. He looked out to see water splattering against the window, and falling from the sky.

"Oh, you're awake. You slept completely though dinner." Mrs. Higurashi said, entering the living room and turning on a light. Once again the loud noise that had awakened him sounded.

"What is happening? Why is water falling from the sky?" Galahad said, looking out the window.

"It's nothing more than a spring storm. Why do you ask?" Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Interesting. In my time, there was no such thing as 'storms'. I've never seen water fall from the sky."

"Well that's what waters the plants and cleans the air. The water falling from the sky called rain."

"Amazing. The morning dew was what watered the plants a long time ago, and strong winds cleaned the air." Galahad said. Mrs. Higurashi smiled.

"I guess things have changed a lot since then." She said.

"Yes it has, and this is one change that is actually worth something." Galahad continued to stare out the window, utterly fascinated by the storm outside. In fact, he was so interested by the storm he sat and watched it until it stopped and the sun came up.


	11. Chapter 11

Futuristic Warrior From The Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter XI

After sitting up for many hours and watching the storm run its course, Galahad again meditated until he heard Mrs. Higurashi come downstairs. His eyes rolled open to see her working on something in the kitchen. He stood up and walked across to the kitchen, curiosity and boredom getting the better of him, not to mention his arm was bothering him. Mrs. Higurashi turned at the sound of his bare feet padding along the tile floor.

"Oh good morning Galahad. Did you enjoy watching the storm?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, smiling her honest smile.

"Yes, it was quite a unique experience. I would like to see something like that again. Pardon me, but do you have any kind of pain medication? I didn't think it would be troublesome, but my arm hurts more than I thought, it made meditation difficult." He said.

"That is probably because of the storm. Weather like that seems to make broken bones and worn joints ache. I have some oxy-codeine somewhere that might help." Mrs. Higurashi started rummaging through some of the cabinets above the counter. She pulled out a white bottle, and pulled two round pills out. "Here, this should dull the pain." She said. Galahad took them, popped them in his mouth and swallowed them right as Mrs. Higurashi started to get him a glass of water. "Don't you need something for the taste, or to help them go down?" She asked, surprised.

"No, I'm fine." Galahad said. "Although they did taste strange. So I guess I am in your way. I thank you for the pain relievers." Galahad started to turn away.

"No you aren't in the way. When you came in, you looked bored, and I figured I could give you something to do." Galahad turned back, the morning sunlight catching in his pale blue eyes.

"Something to do? You need help?" He asked.

"Kind of. Although Kagome usually helps with breakfast, she is gone a lot and I have to do it myself. I could show you some ways to cook." Galahad eyed her questioningly. "You don't have to, but some skill in this field will come in handy later on." He shrugged and walked up next to her.

"All right, what do you want me to do?" He asked. Mrs. Higurashi started going over the recipe she was going to use. They then set about making breakfast, all the while Mrs. Higurashi talked about Kagome, what she was doing, what she was like as a child, how her and Souta got along, and so forth. Galahad never said a word, just listened, giving a simple nod to show he was listening.

"It sounds as if this Hojo really likes Kagome, yet he does not know her very well. But I say he would treat her better than InuYasha does. Kagome herself has a warm heart, and I can see where it came from, not to mention she has the courage to do what is right. And Souta is a good kid, and from what you have told me, I am sure that he will go far in life, even without my guidance. But if you insist on me helping him along, I will." Galahad said, Mrs. Higurashi smiling at the last part. They had just finished and was sitting down when Gramps came in and took his seat, reading the daily paper.

Over the next few days, things went pretty much the same, Galahad meditating and praying daily, tutoring Souta in his classes and playing video games with him. All the while Mrs. Higurashi watched, taking in all that she saw. _'Galahad is much more than I thought he was. He has the look of youth, but his mind and his attitude makes him seem so much older, like he is at my age or even older. He is more than perfect for Kagome, yet he is intent on staying out of anything of the sort. I wonder why? Is there more to this man than I know?' _She thought. Then one day she stepped outside and saw him training. He stood there, no weapons in his hands, dressed in a plain white tank top and his long black shorts. He was without, weapons, and was practicing a form of martial arts she had never seen before. But it was the look on his face that caught here. Instead of that calm, soft, innocent look on his face he had a hard, blank look, his blue eyes piercing and cold, seeming to see everything. Then he started moving faster, and faster, and faster, until it came to the point where he was nothing more than a white haired blur. Mrs. Higurashi was astounded at the sight, and she now knew for sure that he was more than just an ordinary man.

"Galahad, can you stop for a moment? I like to ask you a question." She said. The whirling motion that was Galahad suddenly froze in mid kick.

"Sure, go ahead." He said, straitening himself

"Why are you so different than most people? You are as strong as InuYasha, but he is a half demon, and you are not. You are faster than InuYasha as well too. What is your secret?" She asked. Galahad's eyes seemed distant, as if he did not want to answer the question.

"Well, I guess you should understand it better in this age, so I'll say it. I am a genetically engineered human, more advanced in biological means than a average human. I have no mother or father, I was created in a stasis tank, otherwise grown, already a full adult. So I have no parents and no childhood, perfect conditions for a perfect soldier." Galahad said, slumping down and sitting next to a tree. Mrs. Higurashi was shocked.

"What! I didn't think that was possible!" She said.

"You must understand that the world I lived in was much more advanced than this one is. My means of creation and my differences from ordinary man is the reason I wish to not mingle with them. I know that you think I could and should replace InuYasha, but it is not right, it goes against the codes I swore by. Only someone of a greater rank than I could remove the weight of the code from my shoulders, then I would be free to do as I please, as long as I abided by Kami-sama's law." Galahad explained. He was now looking at his feet. Mrs. Higurashi could almost see the massive weight of such codes pulling him down into procedure and loyalty.

'_No wonder he will not go further with Kagome. It is forbidden for him to do so, and he is loyal enough to never break a rule. Yet I can see how this pains him. There is none left alive that can relive him of his duties and let him have a free life. I just hope that he may forget those codes and try to live normal.' _Mrs. Higurashi thought.

"Have I said enough of myself?" Galahad asked, he suddenly looked weary, as if he had ran a few miles.

"Yes." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Good. Never ask about it again, or mention it to Souta. He does not need to know what I am." He said. Galahad got to his feet and walked out of the temple grounds, heading into the city. Mrs. Higurashi watched him go. He had made more questions for her than answers, but she could tell she had managed to hurt him, and he wanted to be alone.

-

Galahad roamed the streets of Tokyo until sunset, loping about in no apparent direction. He kept a steady eye though, just in case one of Kagome's friends appeared. He found the city rather boring, no where near as grand as the cities he had seen. Tokyo was dirty, way too crowded, and full of advertisement. The only place Galahad stayed for a while was the park, it was like a small haven of nature in the midst of the sprawling metropolis. He sat on a bench and looked out at the creek, watching whatever those animals were that floated on the surface. More than once someone sat down next to him, but most didn't seem to notice that he was there, but those who did tried to start up a conversation. Galahad only responded in a few words, if at all, they often spoke about things he had never heard of. Mortal Combat? Final Fantasy? Go? He didn't really care for games, he only played them with Souta because it pleased the boy.

Galahad eventually returned to the Temple as the sun was casting its last rays across his back, bathing the Higurashi house in golden light. _'I wonder how much longer I will have to wear this dreaded cast, my arm itches. I hope for it to be off soon so I can be about hunting Romulus again. No doubt that he has a new headquarters somewhere, not to mention a seething mass of new "followers". Ahh, but I have a few surprises of my own to unleash on old Romulus, things he will not expect.'_ Galahad thought as he entered the house. Souta was again watching some strange man speak on the display screen, while Mrs. Higurashi worked up something in the kitchen. Souta noticeably brightened when he saw Galahad.

"Hey Galahad! Guess what I got on my latest test?" He said, grinning like he was mad.

"I would imagine a 100. You can't make higher than that." Galahad said, his voice lacking emotion. Souta didn't seem to notice.

"Close, but off. I got a 107! There was a bonus question for extra credit!" He said, his face beaming. A wry grin came to Galahad's face.

"Well, aren't you lucky. I have never heard of extra credit. But I could see how it could come in handy." Galahad said. _'You know, I'm starting to like this kid. He can actually brighten my day. Maybe I'll teach him something other than math and science. I could teach him how to defend himself if he was attacked, and I know that he is eager to learn something like that.'_ Galahad thought. "Now the way I see it, you should be rewarded for such achievements, Souta."

"Oh I have been rewarded, I get more allowance now!" Souta seemed about to burst with glee.

"I think you would like my gift much more than that. I know you have seen me work my moves when I exercise and train myself," Souta's eyes got as big as saucers. "so how about I teach you some of the basic unarmed close combat regiments that I was taught? Though I would have to be approved by your mother." Galahad looked over at her. Uncertainty loomed in her eyes. He knew she would not be so quick to agree with Galahad teaching her son how to tear out someone's throat, or how to deliver a kick that could smash ribs.

"Can I mom? PLEASE?" He pleadingly looked at his mother. She still held that look of uncertainty, but it relented when he added. "I'll only use it to defend myself, I promise."

"You had better or I'll also teach you how I was disciplined when I was young. And believe me, it would not be pleasant." Galahad said, his voice taking an commanding tone. Seeing the sternness in Galahad's eyes, she allowed Souta to be taught self defense.

"All right! When to we start?" Souta asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Tomorrow after school. But if you want to be physically able to train, you might want to get in excellent shape first." Galahad said.

"We have gym in school."

"I doubt that is enough. Well I guess I find ways to get you in good shape, but let me warn you, this will not be easy. You will be so tired at times that all you'll want to do after training is to sleep, and at first you will be extremely sore. Are you sure you want to do it?" Galahad asked.

"Of course! I don't care! I just want to be able to fight at least a little like you!" He said.

"Good. Now let's start with something to eat."

-

The night had just fallen as Erubus left the roadside rest house he'd come across. The Baron of Hell had only found a few humans in it, none of them worthy enough for him to possess, so he had tortured them to death out of sheer boredom and disappointment. The Baron carried a serrated, runed sword with him.

'_These people are so pathetic. They're not as physically able as we need them. Dante and Romulus are wasting time and effort on this land. There's better lands to conquer then this island.'_ He thought. Erubus had been promoted from a Hell Knight 400 years earlier and had been hoping his current assignment would finally convince his Heresy Lord superior of the need to elevate him to the rank of Belphegor. He had been tasked with finding out why his superior had recently stopped receiving undead sacrifices from a mansion that had been taken over by an up and coming Hell Warrior. After discovering the cause, he was to take care of it and report back. He'd discovered the Hell Warrior had been slain, and slain by a half-youkai after doing some investigating.

It had intrigued him, the fact that the land had its own supernatural beings too. Youkai were what the humans referred to them as. So far it seemed, those creatures had mostly been minding their own business and not interfering with the expedition. Once the humans were taken care of, then the expedition would turn to those creatures.

One particular half-youkai, or hanyou as Erubus had heard the humans call it, was his quarry at the moment. This hanyou wore red clothing, had white hair and strangely traveled with a group of humans. Erubus was thirsting for this hanyou's blood, and the blood of his companions, as the Hell Warrior they had slain had been a good friend of his. He had been traveling for a few days now and believed he was getting closer to the village this hanyou and his friends called home.

"/That hanyou and his companions shall see what happens to those who meddle in the business of Hell/" Erubus seethed in black speech as the image of his slain Hell Warrior friend flashed through his mind. At that moment, mysteriously, a stranger who wore a white baboon pelt and baboon mask appeared in front of him.

"/I couldn't help but notice that you seek the one called InuYasha. He is the one responsible for your friend's death./" the stranger said.

"/So InuYasha is his name? That's helpful, but what's it to you? Identify yourself./" Erubus asked. Naraku inwardly chuckled a little.

'_Not bad. Not bad at all. I could come to like this language of theirs.'_ he thought, then spoke.

"/You may refer to me as Naraku. I also wish to see InuYasha dead, and I can give you something that will make your task easier. It will also allow you to become more powerful without waiting for your superior to promote you. How about we make a deal/"

"/Heh, try if you want, but I will not fall for your petty tricks. I'm a whole lot smarter than you think. Do you not know what you are dealing with? I am a Baron of Hell, a ranking officer in Hell's Army. I serve one, and one alone, and do not make deals with outsiders. Now, get out of my way, I have work to do. Or would you rather I show you just what I am capable of/" Naraku only chuckled.

"/Let me show you what you're missing out on then./" Naraku said as he raised his hand up and flicked a Jewel Shard at Erubus. The Jewel Shard hit and embedded itself into the Baron's forehead.

Erubus was utterly shocked at this and began to try and make his way toward the stranger, but never got the chance. The Jewel Shard's power hit him full force and he let out a bloodcurdling roar as his body began to morph. His skin turned blood red, and the hair on his legs turned black. His hooves were now split as his horns straightened up and began to lengthen, and his face lost its fangs. His eyes now burned and glowed an intense yellow. Erebus' had now been transformed into a Lithegor, a demon two steps below a Heresy Lord. His mind now pulsed with only one focus: InuYasha's death.

"/KILL! MUST KIIIILLLL/" Erebus seethed and marched off in the precise direction to Kaede's village, leaving Naraku alone, chuckling.

'_InuYasha, you will agree with me that this foe will be next to impossible to kill. He wants and needs only one thing, to taste your blood. And he will not stop, he will be relentless, until that need is met. You and all your friends shall die tonight.' _Naraku thought, chuckling even more intensely.

-

"Aww, come on InuYasha. Snap out of it. They'll be back any day now." Shippo said as he tried in vain to get InuYasha out of his doldrums.

"Keh!" InuYasha only said. They were both sitting on the roof to Kaede's hut, Shippo having transformed into his ball state to float up there. InuYasha was in his moody dog-like crouch. Sango and Miroku meanwhile had come out of the hut.

"You might as well come on down Shippo. He hasn't moved an inch for the past two weeks, so don't start getting your hopes up he's going to move now. Why don't you come down and come on to bed. It's getting late." Sango said up to him in a deflated voice. Shippo sighed and then hopped down and they went back into the hut.

"I don't see why he has to be in such a hussy over this. Kikyo said Kagome and her would be back in a few days." Shippo said as he curled up next to Kiara.

"I heard that!" they all heard InuYasha shout from the roof above.

What had InuYasha in such an irritable mood was that Kikyo had showed up at the village two weeks ago. All the villagers had dropped what they were doing and approached her in shock and awe, and began to babble incoherently. Kikyo had then explained to them all why she was standing before them. InuYasha's mind was still replaying the events of that day.

"_Kagome, come. It's time you learned how to really use your miko powers, and also how to use a bow and arrow effectively." Kikyo said._

"_Now wait just a damn minute Kikyo. What's this about? You aren't gonna try and get all of your soul back from Kagome are you?" InuYasha had then said, stepping between the two. Kikyo's face contorted._

"_How dare you accuse me of such a thing InuYasha. I've only come to thoroughly train Kagome in the ways of the miko and of the bow and arrow. Her proficiency in those things will be greatly needed in the coming days." Kikyo then said sternly at InuYasha, putting an edge in her voice._

"_Kikyo, what's the real reason you are here? You could've done this at any time during all this time we've been hunting down Naraku. What's this sudden need for Kagome to be trained?" Miroku spoke up. Kikyo turned to him, then looked over everybody, then back to InuYasha._

"_Have you been encountering any new strange oni over the past few weeks? Ones that have the heads and legs of goats, but torsos and arms of men?" she asked. Everybody's eyes then bugged out._

"_You've seen them too?" Sango asked in shock._

"_I have. I've also encountered their leader, and the one called Galahad who intends to stop them. Their leader is starting to try and amass an army of the oni. Holy ones have the best chance of bringing them down, so Kagome must now learn how to truly use her abilities if she is to be of good use in the coming days, if not for her own safety as well. Naraku must be put aside for the moment, for these oni and their leader are far more dangerous and must be dealt with now." Kikyo said, then turned back to Kagome. "Now, will you come with me so I can start your training? The training will be long, difficult, and trying. You will need supplies for several days. And," Kikyo pointed to her clothes, "you must lose those strange clothes of yours, to eliminate distractions. Sister, retrieve Kagome some robes." Kaede nodded and went back to her hut and returned with a set of miko robes, handing them to Kagome. Kikyo then spoke again. "Are you ready to accept the challenge?" Kagome was still shocked from all this, but her face then contorted into a grim visage._

"_Yes, I'm ready to accept the challage. Let me get my backpack. InuYasha and I returned from my time yesterday with fresh supplies." Kagome then left and returned a few minutes later, wearing the robes and carrying her backpack, bow, and quiver. Her new wakizashi was also by her side. Her hair was not tied up like Kikyo's however. "I am ready."_

"_What is that blade?" Kikyo asked._

"_My backup weapon in case I run out of arrows during a fight. I can focus my powers in it. InuYasha was just getting ready to teach me how to use it when you showed up." Kagome replied._

"_Leave it. You will not be needing it." Kikyo said. Kagome hesitated, then pulled the sheathed sword from the belt of the robes and gave it to InuYasha. "Now, let us go." Kikyo said, then turning to the others. "I forbid anybody to try and follow us, especially you, InuYasha. I'm going to set up a special barrier around the training area specifically to keep you out. Kagome must not have any distractions whatsoever." Before anybody could react or protest, Kikyo pulled a sutra out of her robes and flung one at InuYasha, hitting him square in the forehead and knocking him down, paralyzing him._

"_Kikyo! What are you doing?" Kagome asked in a surprised voice. _

"_You know as well as I do that he will attempt to follow us, no matter what I say. That will keep him from doing so. Now come, the longer this takes, the more time the black armored one has to gather his forces." The two mikos then left the village, Kikyo taking Kagome out into a nice, open area beyond InuYasha's Forest, then setting up her special barrier to provide privacy and beginning Kagome's grueling training._

"Keh. Kikyo's probably brainwashing Kagome." InuYasha said to no one in particular. It was at that moment that the scent hit him. A scent similar to that of the strange looking Hell Warrior they had found at the mansion. InuYasha took a few more whiffs. _'Something's different about this one.'_ he thought as he jumped down and opened the straw entrance to the hut. "Hey wake up! Somethin's comin'." he said, waking Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kiara and Kaede up.

"What is it, InuYasha?" Kaede asked after sitting up.

"Another one of those oni are coming. I smelled it."

"What kind? Can you tell?" Miroku asked as he also got up.

"It smelled similar to that first Baron we ever fought that started all this, 'cept it seems different, like it's stronger."

"Let's go then. They may be coming to have a second go around at ransacking the village." Sango said as she went out behind the hut and got on her battle suit. They then left and followed InuYasha, who was following the scent. They had reached the edge of the village and were just outside when the Lithegor Erebus emerged from the forest. Seeing the Lithegor stopped them all.

"What the hell is that thing?" InuYasha asked.

"Looks like a stronger class of them." Sango stated.

"It looks even more appalling than the leader of the ones that came the last time, when Galahad took care of them." Kaede said, her single eye open wide in disbelief.

"S-S-c-c-c-a-a-arry!" Shippo stuttered out before hiding behind InuYasha. The Lithegor then looked and saw InuYasha, and bared its teeth.

"THERE YOU ARE! YOU KILLED MY FRIEND! NOW YOU DIE!" Erebus howled and then charged them, it's runed sword raised. Tetsusaiga was ripped from its sheath as InuYasha charged as well and met the oni blade to blade.

"Who's friend…you accusing…me of killing?" InuYasha said in between blocking attacks and trying to counter-attack. The Lithegor's strength was immense however, and InuYasha was getting backed up. The Lithegor stopped attacking momentarily, and, keeping it's sword up to defend, it spoke.

"You killed my Hell Warrior friend! He was creating an army of zombies for my superior! He was a trusted friend!" InuYasha smirked.

"So, you've come to get some payback then, huh? You must be just as disgusting as he was. No, I take that back. You and all your kind are disgusting, the scourge of the earth!" InuYasha said as he again charged. Erubus was ready this time, and not only did he block InuYasha's attack, he pushed back hard with his sword and sent InuYasha flying. InuYasha landed on his feet a good 10 meters from the creature.

"_Hiraikotsu!_" Sango yelled as she threw her boomerang hard at the Lithegor. The Lithegor stopped holding its sword with both hands, sidestepped, and promptly caught the Hiraikotsu by one of it's handles! In the same fluid motion, the Lithegor then flung the bone weapon right back at Sango!

"Sango!" Miroku yelled, tackling her before she could be hit by the weapon. The weapon flew on into the village and came to rest in one of the streets. Miroku got back up and tried flinging some sutras, but as before, they disintegrated before they could even touch the creature. Kaede then fired an arrow at Erubus, but Erubus caught the arrow and snapped it in two. InuYasha had now seen enough.

"_Kaze no Kizu!"_ InuYasha shouted as he slammed the Tetsusaiga down into the ground to unleash the attack. The attack sped forward and hit the powerful oni dead center. The oni grunted in pain a little, but the attack dissipated leaving nothing more than slight burn marks everywhere on its body. Erubus then looked at InuYasha with a wicked grin and started laughing. InuYasha growled and ran at him again, and the two then resumed their sword duel. Again, InuYasha was not getting any attacks in. He was only being able to defend, and he was still getting backed up. _'What the hell do I do now? The normal Kaze no Kizu won't work, I can't conjure up the Bakuryuuha because he's attacking with only brute force, and Kagome's not here so she can't power up the Tetsusaiga. Damn! Why did Kikyo have to come here like she did!'_ InuYasha thought as he continued to get backed up. Tetsusaiga meanwhile was starting to ring from the force of the sword blows InuYasha was blocking.

"InuYasha's not getting any attacks in. Can he defeat that thing?" Shippo asked Miroku as they all watched, unable to assist in the fight.

"He's the only one who can do it. I can't use my Kazanna because I'd be possessed, and the thing was able to catch Sango's boomerang and hurl it back." Miroku replied.

"Sometimes I despise being old, and this is one of those times. Age has diminished my attack powers greatly, otherwise my arrow would've had an effect." Kaede said sternly as she looked on.

"InuYasha had better find a way to kill it, and fast. The Tetsusaiga's ringing again and may break if this keeps up much longer." Sango commented.

Back in the midst of the fight, a dark thought came to InuYasha's mind as the only option he could think of came to him. He didn't like it one bit. _'Would I be able to control myself if I did it? Kagome's not here, but it may not even matter. The last time it happened, I couldn't even hear Kagome's voice. But then again, it's been a long time since it's happened too. Maybe that time has allowed the Tetsusaiga to bind it up enough to where if I let it loose now, I'll still have some control over it.' _Another parry and the Tetsusaiga's subsequent ringing left him no choice. _'I have to do it. Without Kagome here, the Kaze no Kizu and Bakuryuuha are useless, and I can't beat him in melee with the Tetsusaiga. I never thought I'd be doing this on purpose, but I'm left with no choice. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, forgive me for what I'm about to do and if I come after you all afterwards, but it's the only way I can possibly hope to kill this thing.'_ With that, InuYasha loosened his grip on the Tetsusaiga some and purposely let down his guard a little bit as the Lithegor swung again. The swing knocked the Tetsusaiga whirling into the air while the oni's blade cut through the fire rat haori and into InuYasha's skin.

"AAAHHHH!" InuYasha howled in immense pain as he was sent flying backwards by the attack. InuYasha then felt it, his youkai blood beginning to burn and boil with the desire to live and the need to kill, and it completely surprised him how fast it had come.

"What the…he couldn't do it!" Shippo yelled as they saw InuYasha being flung back. As he was being hurled, Miroku first saw it, the momentary flash of red in InuYasha's eyes, then again.

"Wait, InuYasha's trying something." he then said.

"What is he doing?" Sango then asked at him. Erubus meanwhile had begun to walk toward where InuYasha had landed to finish him off. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kaede then got their answer as to what InuYasha was doing as InuYasha got up and they saw his now blood red eyes, his lengthened claws and the blue markings on his face. It being her first time seeing it, Kaede's mouth dropped open. InuYasha then turned toward Erubus, baring his fangs. Erubus was now confused.

"Hmm. Maybe now you will provide a more formidable challenge." Erubus then said.

"I never thought I'd find myself doing this on purpose, but you've enraged me enough to do it." InuYasha replied in his now deep, full youkai voice.

"InuYasha let himself get injured and drop the Tetsusaiga on purpose! He's let his youkai blood take control of him!" Miroku then said, flabbergasted.

"What do ye speak of? What's happened to him?" Kaede asked. Sango then explained to Kaede about InuYasha's youkai blood, and Kaede was appalled at this.

Meanwhile, InuYasha looked his prey over, sizing up his opponent._ 'What a relief. I've got some measure of control over it this time, but it's hard as hell to keep. I can keep it steered toward only going after the oni for the moment, but for how long? All the more reason to kill it that much quicker.'_ InuYasha's heart thought underneath all the youkai rage. InuYasha then cracked his claws toward the oni and jumped at it. In his first swipe, he knocked the Lithegor's blade from its hands. He swiped again, and got it in the chest, leaving deep gouge marks. The oni simply grunted, as if the wound only discomforted it.

"Now the battle really begins!" InuYasha seethed as he swiped again at Erubus, getting him across the face. Erubus backed up, and with his now one remaining eye, saw InuYasha coming at him again. This time he was ready, and caught InuYasha's clawed hand in mid swipe. InuYasha tried swiping at him with his other hand, and the Lithegor caught it as well. The two now grunted and groaned as a battle of strength then ensued. As the others looked on in awe as youkai-InuYasha grappled with the oni, the Lithegor reared back with its head and viciously head-butted InuYasha. InuYasha was stunned for a second, but didn't loosen his grip. The oni then wrenched an arm free and delivered an uppercut to InuYasha's ribs that would have shattered human bone, BOOM and InuYasha was lifted off the ground for a moment.

"HOOOF!" InuYasha grunted as blood spat out of his mouth, and all over Erubus' face. Before the oni could try and punch him again, InuYasha let loose a jab of his own with his now free hand. It only snapped the Lithegor's head back for an instant, but it was enough time for InuYasha to immediately follow it up with a roundhouse kick to the oni's jaw stunning it for just a little bit longer. InuYasha then wrenched his other hand free and started an offensive, throwing a series of punches and kicks rapidly to the oni's head.

Meanwhile, off in the woods, two mikos were running as fast as they possibly could to get to the battle. As they approached, Kikyo's eyes suddenly narrowed and she looked over at Kagome.

"Kagome, something has happened to InuYasha. His aura has changed. Do you feel it?" Kikyo asked. Kagome then noticed it too, and a look of horror crossed her face.

"Oh no! His youkai blood has taken him over. The oni must have managed to knock the Tetsusaiga out of his hands! Kikyo, we need to hurry even more so now! He can't tell friend from foe at the moment!" Kagome said in an excited and somewhat scared voice, then explaining to Kikyo about InuYasha's youkai blood and the connection to the Tetsusaiga, Kikyo's face remaining blank as she did. When they broke into the clearing, they saw InuYasha in his berserker state and the oni circling around, growling at one another, the oni trying to make its way back over to its sword. Kagome now saw that InuYasha was in serious trouble. She couldn't 'osuwari' him, as that would immediately leave him wide open to attack from the oni. It was then that her and Kikyo both saw the Jewel Shard in the oni's forehead.

"A Jewel Shard. That explains why it is so powerful. It also explains who was behind this particular incident in the first place." Kikyo said as she nocked an arrow.

"Who's responsible?" Kagome asked as she raised her bow as well.

"Naraku." Kikyo said as she released her arrow. InuYasha had at the same time charged again at the oni. The arrow flew as if it was a guided missile, hitting the oni squarely between the eyes just as InuYasha had gotten to within an arms'-reach with a clawed hand ready to swipe. The miko power charged up in the arrow made it explode like a grenade, and InuYasha was sent flying backwards. He landed on his back 15 feet away from where he had been standing, and wasn't moving. The oni meanwhile was now staggering around, blood pouring from it's face. Kagome saw it wasn't dead yet, and released her arrow then. Instead of going off target like it had in the past, Kagome's arrow flew the same way Kikyo's had, hitting the oni in the head and taking it completely off. The Jewel Shard fell to the ground as Erubus' body then began to dissolve away into nothing. Kagome then hurriedly ran up to InuYasha to check him over while Kikyo walked over to where the Jewel Shard had fallen. The others walked up to join Kagome.

Kagome thankfully found that InuYasha was only unconscious. The blue lines had disappeared from his face, meaning he was back to his normal hanyou self. Kagome then looked over at Kikyo, who was now walking over to join them with the now-purified Jewel Shard in her hand. Kagome's face contorted in anger.

"Kikyo! What were you doing? You could have killed him!" she said.

"You misunderstand. I was returning him to normal as well as softening up the oni. You, meanwhile, did very well. You impressed me with that one shot you took." Kikyo replied.

"She's right Kagome. That arrow you fired looked the same as Kikyo's did. Good job." Sango said then. It was then that InuYasha then came to.

"Oww…my…head." he said groggily as he opened his eyes. He was confused to see what looked like two Kikyos kneeling beside him. "Wha…damn. I must have gotten hit pretty hard Kikyo. I see two of you." One of the Kikyos' faces hardened.

"Osuwari." It then said coldly. WHAM! InuYasha was immediately turned over as he slammed into the ground.

-

The next day started with Souta exercising a lot with Galahad watching, and exercising some himself. Then when he had Souta almost wore out, he showed Souta some very simple blocking techniques and some jumps to get him out of harm's way. After dark came Galahad went and slept some on the couch, wanting to rest himself for his training that night. Galahad was in a good mood all day, until he came to a waking nightmare.

Galahad opened his eyes to see a stone ceiling above him, smeared with blood. He shot to his feet, scanning the room with cold eyes. There was bloody pentagrams scowled all over the stone block walls, and small torches dimly lighting the rooms. Not to mention a skeleton stared out at him with empty sockets and its grin of death. He jumped back after he noticed he had been laying on a stretching rack, limbs still attached to the chains. He heard a scream, and spun to the barred window to see a naked man nailed to a boulder outside, with two imps cracking his chest cavity open.

'_WHAT? Why am I here again? How has this happened?' _Galahad was confused. It looked as if he was in Hell again, but at least he was not in the void-like inferno. He carefully investigated his surroundings, finding a soul that had been butchered and devoured as food, and a man who sat in a corner and continuously stabbed himself with a rusted knife. Galahad found some stairs and ventured up them, alert for any signs of demons. The stairs ended in a hallway, and at the end of the hallway he saw an imp. He instinctively started sprinting at it, not noticing that it was shorter than a normal imp. His right hand went around its throat, and he hoisted the demon into the air, rearing back with his cast to crush its face.

Then he heard the scream, and reality came crashing down.

As the demon started to scream, it began to shift, turning into Souta! Galahad instantly dropped him to the floor and staggered back, shocked. The boy started crying and holding his throat, coughing. Now Galahad was confused and frightened.

'_NO! This cannot be! This was not supposed to happen to me!' _Galahad thought. Feelings started tearing at him, calling for action. "RRRAAAAGGGHHH!" Galahad screamed, torn with guilt and hurt. He turned around and ran, automatically charging his equilibrium. He was out the door and moving rapidly away from the house now, not really sure where he was going. He shoved people out of the way, not noticing how he flung people into the air and knocked them down with his speed. He had to get away. He had failed. Galahad had harmed another human, which was forbidden. Humanity was his ally, not his enemy. Hurting one unless in self defense meant death. But there was no one to carry out the sentence, and he was not going to commit suicide. That was also forbidden. He had a strong feeling of uncleanness, like he had just bathed in someone's blood. He had to do penance for what he had just done, but it was not just committing a crime that confused him. Galahad felt as if he had been lied to. The elders of his creation had told him that he would not have combat flashbacks, and that his kind were immune to them. But he had just attacked Souta, thinking he was an imp, and to Galahad that was a clear sign of a combat flashback, for he really thought he was in Hell again, fighting for his life. He roamed on, eventually coming to rest on the top of a building. He slowed his equilibrium back down and sat down. He had to come up with a penance that did not kill him, yet it would be enough to save his soul. He sat down and started praying, seeking Yahweh for guidance. As he sat in prayer, he didn't notice that he was crying, crying for the first time in his life.


	12. Chapter 12

Futuristic Warrior From The Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

_Forward slashes in dialog indicate when characters speak in the black speech._

Chapter XII

THOOM! A cloud of sulfurous smoke blew across the room, veiling almost everything from Romulus' sight. A group of Hell Knights stood around him, acting as bodyguards. Romulus did not honestly think the demon he had just summoned was needed, he felt that he could deal with this interloping problem quite well. But the Fallen Angel Dante ordered him to allow the demon passage into the mortal world, and not to question his motives. Romulus was about to see if it had actually come through when it suddenly floated out of the smoke. Its body had the shape of a black tattered cloak, though no face could be seen through the darkness of the cloak's cowl, but black clawed talons showed through the ends of the sleeves. It floated a foot above the floor, no feet visible. It stopped before Romulus, not speaking.

"/I presume that you already understand why you are sent, Agringar./" Romulus said, crossing his arms across his chest. His wounds still pained him a little, but he would ascend to a higher level soon enough, and he would be immortal. The floating wraith-like figure was silent, but nodded. "/Very well, carry out your task, but I will not help you./" Romulus stepped aside and motioned to the door, and the demon floated past and mounted the stairs from the basement of the island fortress.

"/Isn't sending in a greater demon overkill for the foe it seeks/" A knight asked.

"/Probably, but I have no say in its actions. I think its victim will be used as an example. It is not of our concern, now go. I wish to hunt for powerful ones to fuel my greater goal./" The demon bowed and trotted off, hooves clicking on the stone. Romulus _would _achieve his greater goal, and receive a good portion of this earth for him to rule after this was finished. The Heresy Lord might be a future enemy, but he had no concern for him, yet. He would be dealt with later.

_-_

Kikyo had left a little while earlier, and Kagome was showing them all that she had learned while training, and she had learned a lot! Meanwhile she was still in the miko clothes. She had created barriers in front of them, shown that she now had the accuracy with her bow to pin squirrels to trees at 50 yards, and shown she could now purify things. She demonstrated by grabbing InuYasha by the arm, closing her eyes to concentrate and then leaving a burn mark on his arm.

"OUCH! Stop it!" InuYasha had screamed.

"Of course." Kagome said before letting go.

"How exhaustive was that training?" Miroku then asked. Kagome then sighed.

"To be honest, those two weeks were the most brutal two weeks of my entire life. But I'm glad of it. I've now got a much better idea of just what I'm capable of. Oh, one more thing I can do now is that I can shoot sealing arrows too, but don't worry InuYasha. I don't ever plan on resealing you to anything." she said.

"Better not." InuYasha said gruffly. Kagome then started to get up to go and change, but her head suddenly snapped up and she gasped, a look of shock coming to her face, and she began to pant. She immediately sat back down. The others looked at her curiously.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" InuYasha asked, putting an arm around her.

"Something…has happened…at home…in the well. A feeling of dread…just washed…over me." Kagome said in between breaths. A look of fright then began to overtake her as she continued. "Souta…something has happened…to Souta!" she then said. InuYasha put his arms around Kagome.

"Kagome, calm down. Just calm down. We'll go and see what has happened right away then." He said.

"Take me there then, right now!" she said, as she grabbed her backpack. InuYasha nodded and he picked her up and began to bound off to the well as fast as he could with her on his back in the dark woods. The others just stared for a while at the direction they'd left in.

"Has she ever been able to do that before?" Shippo asked.

"No, I don't think so." Sango replied.

"Hmm. I think Kikyo's training may have awakened a connection with the well that allows her to keep in contact with her family on the other side. I don't know for sure however. I'm just guessing." Miroku said thoughtfully.

"You may be right on that." Sango said.

-

The doors of the well house almost splintered from the force InuYasha had slid them open with as he leapt out and landed on the shrine grounds. Kagome immediately got off of his back and ran to where the feeling she had felt was leading her. She raced into the house, up the stairs and to Souta's room, InuYasha right behind her. Souta was inside, sitting on the floor. His face was frozen into a dead stare and his body was twitching. He was also breathing rapidly, his breaths seeming as if they forced. Mrs. Higurashi just then came into the room too.

"Kagome! Thank goodness you're finally here!" she said.

"Mama, what happened!" Kagome asked, her eyes starting to water up some.

"Father and I had just returned home from a movie when we found him in here, like this. I'm about to call the hospital."

"Death…I saw death." Souta stammered out, his voice breaking at the words. Kagome looked at him, and her new miko senses kicked in.

"Mama, he's seen something, something horrible. I'm sensing an intense concentration of fear. Souta, what did you see?" she said.

"I…s-s-saw…Galahad. He…wielded…death!" he managed to say. Mrs. Higurashi then looked at her daughter.

"What about Galahad? Please Souta, tell me." Kagome continued to ask.

"I saw Galahad, and he looked unusual. He ran at me, grabbed me by the throat, and reared back to hit me." Souta was starting to calm down noticeably.

"What? Souta are you making this up?" Mrs. Higurashi asked in complete shock.

"It wasn't that he was choking me that was scaring me, it was the look on his face. It was like staring into the face of a complete loony. It was like he thought I was someone else." A light came on in Kagome's head at those words.

'_A flashback possibly? Could he have had one of those? He is a war veteran, and I've read in school that that happens to war veterans sometimes.'_ she thought. She then turned to InuYasha.

"InuYasha, have you ever had a memory flashback? You know, where suddenly it seems as if you're reliving a past experience?" she asked.

"No. You think that happened to Galahad?"

"Maybe. From what Souta has just said, its a possibility. Souta, what happened next? Galahad didn't hit you obviously."

"He then suddenly let go of me, and looked normal for a moment. But then he screamed and bolted out of the house."

"Kagome, how could you tell that Souta was so scared? And what's with the miko clothes?" Mrs. Higurashi then asked.

"Long story mama, but let me just say for now that I am a full fledged miko, with all the special abilities. InuYasha, we need to go find Galahad. Whatever happened to him, it may still be going on. You know how dangerous he can be when he's fighting." Kagome said to InuYasha, concern in her voice.

"Right. Let's go find him then. He may be knocking the crap out of somebody and not even know it. He may have gone into something similar to my demon state." InuYasha and Kagome then immediately left the room and left the house through Kagome's window. Mrs. Higurashi then looked at Souta.

"You feeling alright now, Souta? I can still call an ambulance if you want me to." she asked.

"No, I'm starting to feel better now. I just need to lie down and relax for a few minutes." Souta said as he climbed onto his bed and laid down.

-

"Damn! I can't find his scent that well. He must have been moving fast. It's going to take me time to track him. Time we may not have." InuYasha said as he bounded from rooftop to rooftop, the baseball cap on and Kagome on his back, her hair fluttering in the night air.

"Stop a moment, I sense something." Kagome said. InuYasha stopped at the next roof he landed on, and Kagome closed her eyes.

"What is it?" asked InuYasha. Kagome waved her hand for him to be quiet as she concentrated.

"InuYasha, turn right and go that way. I'm sensing a presence of pure holiness that way." she then pointed. InuYasha complied. They continued to hop buildings, Kagome following the sense she was feeling, until eventually she started to see a white rippling aura in the distance on a building, an aura that only she could see. It stood out like a bright beacon. "That building up ahead InuYasha. He's on the roof of it. I can see an aura he's putting off that's huge." she pointed. InuYasha then picked up the pace.

When they landed on the roof of the building in question, Kagome saw that the aura Galahad was giving off was completely encompassing his body and everything within a few feet of him. She also saw faint, misty swirling colors of red and black as well.

'_He's on a roller coaster ride of emotions at the moment.'_ she thought. To InuYasha, all he saw was Galahad sitting against the outside wall of the roof, his face placid. Kagome got off of InuYasha's back and began to approach him, but InuYasha stopped her.

"Wait, we don't know what he'll do." he said.

"It's okay InuYasha, I'm only seeing faint traces of anger in his aura." Kagome reassured him.

"Oh. So you've learned new tricks now. What do you want with me?" Galahad then spoke. They turned to see him standing, and InuYasha saw that one hand was clenched. He looked calm, but InuYasha saw in his eyes that Galahad was a tightly wound spring, ready to snap at any moment. At the same time Kagome saw his aura focus up and draw into his forearms. She was then overcome with a wave of raw anger emanating from him.

"Galahad, please calm down, it's all right. We're not here to hurt you. We searched you out to try and help you through whatever this is about." Kagome said then in a pleading voice.

"You seek to understand me? Are you trying to pry into my mind?" Galahad began to grit his teeth as those words left his mouth, Kagome seeing his eyes start to glow. InuYasha began to carefully sneak his hand toward Tetsusaiga's hilt. He didn't want to draw the Fang, but if Galahad suddenly decided to go berserk, he would have no choice to keep Kagome safe. Galahad then continued: "You cannot hope to understand that which you have not lived through. Leave me in peace, NOW!"

"Kagome, it's hopeless. He's gone into full defensive mode. We better just leave now and let him get rid of whatever it is that's still in his system. Even though I can't see his aura, I can tell he's mad, and he won't hesitate to kill us if we move toward him." Without waiting for a response from her, InuYasha grabbed Kagome and got ready to leap off the building. Suddenly, Galahad let out an incoherent shout and they turned to see him pound a hole into the low concrete wall with his fist. He then slumped over and began to cough and pant. Kagome wrenched free of InuYasha's grasp and ran over to him.

"Galahad! You alright?" she asked as she knelt beside him. He was steadying himself, still panting. She then felt all of the emotion in his aura disappear. Galahad stood up, his face back to its original stoic ness.

"Now that I have complete control over myself again, I will repent for my sin." he said, and then seemingly disappeared, InuYasha seeing a blur hopping buildings.

"What the hell? How… What…" InuYasha was completely speechless, his face agape as he looked back and forth between the hole and where Galahad had just been standing.

-

To ordinary people, Galahad looked like a blurry streak that hopped from roof to roof, visible for only an instant. But in Galahad's vision he could see everything, but it was moving very slowly, the cars on the road seeming to inch by. He was within the void once again, with a firm handle on his weak emotions. But what confused him and angered him the most was the fact that he actually _had _a flashback. The elders who had created him said themselves that he was immune to such psychotic behavior. The fact that he had one pointed out two possibilities, that they lied, or they had not expected their creations to last for so long. Galahad didn't know what had caused it, but he knew what he was going to do about it.

Within a few seconds, he stood at the steps to the temple that the Higurashi house stood upon. He strode to the door, entered and grabbed his gladius in one fluid motion. Mrs. Higurashi spotted him, and started to speak. Galahad didn't listen, he did not want to hear and he had one thing on his mind. He walked past her and kept going, going up the steps and down the hall to Souta's room. He silently opened the door and stepped in. Souta was lying on the bed, apparently asleep. But within Galahad's sight he could tell Souta was conscious. As Galahad walked up to the bed, Souta opened his eyes and looked at Galahad. Galahad kneeled at the bed, aware that Mrs. Higurashi was now watching him from the doorway.

"Souta, in my society, me and my fellow brethren had to adhere to a strict code. We were to protect Yahweh's people from all possible harm, and not to harm them ourselves unless it was in self defense or in the defense of another. I have broken that code, and since there are no elders now to sentence me, you must carry out the only punishment available." Galahad said. He pulled his gladius from it's sheath, took Souta's hand, and placed the handle in the boy's hand, and lowered his head. Souta looked at the blade, amazed at the fact the he was holding such a powerful sword, he could feel the handle pulsing into his hand, giving it a warm feeling.

"Um, Galahad? Is there not an alternative to this? If I understand what this punishment is, then I will not let my son do such a thing." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"That is for Souta to decide. I place my fate in his hands." Galahad said, not moving from his position. There was a pause as Souta sat, looking from the blade to Galahad, who still did not move from his kneeling position at the side of the bed.

"Well, I think if your elders were here now and knew what was going on, they would accept this. I know what was wrong with you, Galahad, so I am going to let you go. Besides, there's no way I could execute you, it would be too wrong." Souta said, going back to examining the sword. Galahad rose, his face contorted, he let out what sounded like a hissing sound, and sat with his back against the side of the bed, his head in his hands. Mrs. Higurashi then walked over and put her hand on Galahad's shoulder. It was then when Kagome and InuYasha reentered the house and entered the room. A confused look came to both of their faces at the scene before them.

"OK, what just happened here?" Kagome asked.

"Galahad just asked Souta to execute him as punishment for attacking him, but Souta spared him." Her mother replied. "I think Galahad is still in shock about that."

"What? Why would he ask such a thing?"

"Honor, that's why." InuYasha then said. "Think about it Kagome. Remember the time after my Tetsusaiga broke and my youkai blood was unleashed? The worst thing I feared during that time was that I'd wind up coming after you whenever I transformed. Imagine how I would have felt afterward if I had attacked you during that time." Kagome thought for a second. "I would have never been able to forgive myself and would have wanted to die too." InuYasha then walked over to Galahad. "Well, since he's spared you, what do want to do next? Remember that maniac is still out there. If I were you, I'd try to make up for this by-"

"I do not take advice from the likes of you, and I never will. I have not forgotten that Romulus is out there. I do not think I shall wait any longer for him to make the next move." Galahad interrupted. He was standing now, looking exactly like his former self. "I am sorry Souta, but your training will have to be put on hold. And I need my sword back." He said, looking at Souta, who seemed to realize that he was still holding the blade, and quickly handed it to Galahad.

"What about your arm? I don't think it is fully healed." Mrs. Higurashi said.

"I can fix this easily enough. Now I must go back through the well and prepare." Galahad said, sheathing the sword. He looked over to Kagome and InuYasha. "Do you wish to follow?"

"Well, I'm out of supplies, so I'm staying here." Kagome said.

"I am too." InuYasha said.

"Very well, but do not fret if you miss a battle for it." Galahad said, and he turned and left the room.

"Kagome?" InuYasha then asked.

"Yes InuYasha?"

"Start cramming two or three of everything you think we might even remotely need on the other side of the well into your backpack, and don't be afraid to take as much time as you need. Stuff it as full as you can get it. I've got a feeling that when we go back, we won't be returning for quite a good while."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I think Galahad is going to need all the backup or help we and the others can give him in taking out this Romulus. If he's even as remotely powerful as Galahad says he is, then we ain't coming back here until he's taken care of. Kikyo was right. Everything, even Naraku, is secondary at the moment." InuYasha then said, looking at her, then his face hardened. "What are you waiting for? The longer we wait here, the stronger that maniac is gonna get! Get to it!" Kagome finally came to her senses at what InuYasha was saying and then left the room to get busy.

"InuYasha, you think this might mean Kagome may miss her next test?" Mrs. Higurashi then asked.

"Probably, but missing that's better than letting an army of those oni Galahad described overrun the Feudal Era and therefore this time as well."

"Oh!" Mrs. Higurashi then said as she realized what InuYasha was getting at.

"Oi kid. Fire up that Play Stashamacallit or whatever it is. I think I'm ready for ya now." InuYasha then grinned at Souta.

-

Galahad went downstairs, got his armor and proceeded to the bathroom to change. He did not really like these modern clothes very much, and repairs on his armor were almost complete. He suited up and was out the door in a matter of moments, leaving a neatly folded pile of clothes on the kitchen table. He went to the well house, taking note that the doors were almost destroyed. _'InuYasha has strength. I will give him that.'_ Galahad thought as he dropped into the well. Everything darkened for a moment, then the open starry sky appeared above Galahad's head. He leapt from the well and sat on it's edge, thinking. He was trying to remember where exactly his cryogenic facility was. From now on it would be his base of operations, but he had to find it first. He figured out where it's general location was by reconstructing a map in his head of everywhere he had been. Sure of were to go now, he hopped to his feet and sprinted off into the woods, he wanted to be there and out of sight before dawn.

-

Sitting on his futon in a well decorated temple room, the former Mt. Hakurei temple of the high monk Hakushin, Naraku was agitated.

'_This is absolutely incredible. How did InuYasha manage to deafeat it? It was many times more powerful than even Goshinki. Now that I think about it, how the hell did InuYasha destroy him too? I thought his ability to read minds rendered him unbeatable. In any case, I'm stupefied as to what to do now. How can one hanyou be so impossible to kill? I may just do good then to resurrect that one group. What was it called exactly? The Shichinintai was it?' _Just then his thoughts were interrupted when he felt a presence enter the room. He looked to see a black, wraithlike figure floating towards him, no face visible in the blackness of the cowl covering its head.

"Who are you, and how did you get past the holy barrier?" Naraku said, getting to his feet. The figure was silent, simply raising a talon of a hand and pointing at him. "Do you challenge me?" Naraku asked. Once again the figure was silent, but it raised its other hand, producing an orb the size of a man's head that produced an eerie red light.

Just then Naraku was flung into the back wall and pinned there. He could not see what force did this, but this was not what surprised him. A great howling sound rang in his ears, followed by wailing screams. Heat unlike he had ever felt struck Naraku, and he began to sweat. The orb seemed to grow in Naraku's sight, and within it he saw a sight he would give the Shikon Jewel away for to forget. Within the orb he saw a darkness that seemed to pull at him, enticing him to enter. Within the darkness there was flames that had no apparent source, and within the flames there were people, screaming and begging for mercy, which was answered by winged creatures not unlike the one he planted the jewel shard in. The winged demons would lift the souls and proceed to tear them apart and devour them. Then his own face filled the orb, giving him his own expressionless look. Then it began to shift, and became a face he could not describe, it was the most beautiful, yet also the most hideous face he had seen. Then the face spoke, the words threatening to rip Naraku's sanity away at each syllable.

"Did you enjoy the view? Well too bad, because I'm waiting for you here, and when you get here, I'm going to show you the _true _meaning of **_pain_**, understand?" It said. Naraku, who was now drenched in sweat from the heat radiating on him, nodded, fear gripping him like an iron vice. "Never forget this Naraku, youkai or not, you are _mortal_, and when you die, you come before me, **_Satan_**. Try as you might, your fate is set, nothing you can do can change your current path. I'll see you in a little while, Naraku, so enjoy what's left of your life. **_I'll be waiting._**" The last few words seemed to be more menacing than ever. Then the orb returned to normal size, and Naraku thumped to the floor. The black wrath figure stood for a moment longer, then turned and floated out the doorway, leaving Naraku to contemplate his fate, his eternal fate.


	13. Chapter 13

Futuristic Warrior From The Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

_Authors' Notes: Despite what this chapter may suggest, the Shichinintai ARE NOT making an appearance in this story, just to get that out of the way now._

Chapter XIII

Galahad did some minor adjustments on the last turret and pressed a button. The six barreled chain gun turret hummed, rotated upwards, and retracted into the ceiling. He had placed four other turrets like it around the entrance to his cave base, three of them large chain guns, two of them plasma guns. Judging by the way he had placed them, Galahad was sure any oni that came around would be thoroughly shredded before it could get within thirty feet of the door. Next to each turret he had placed an optical sensor, giving the turrets the ability to see their surroundings without having to expose themselves. When the sensors detected an intruder that was deemed hostile, the sensors would retract and the turrets would pop out and open fire.

Finished with his work, Galahad got down and stood at the entrance to the cave, drinking from a stainless steel bottle of water he had collected from a nearby stream. Even from where he was standing, Galahad knew he could not be seen. He had placed a holographic projector to make it look as if the cave had collapsed and no longer existed. Still drinking from the bottle, Galahad went into his cryogenics facility and went to the stasis chamber. Where he had once slept in a glass tube, there sat a pedestal with his Soul Cube resting on it. With all the time that he had, he started studying the Soul Cube technology, probing it for different ways to see whether or not he could use its powers for different uses. So far he had achieved nothing in the means of different uses, but he had found out how it channeled its power, and that was a big plus. He had also scanned for any nearby deposits of titanium, and was now using laser cutters to work his way to it. Before too long, he would reinforce his armor, making it stronger than it ever was. As for his broken arm, one simple injection had healed it, and allowed Galahad to remove the cast, along with the staples in his side.

'_Things are looking better for the forces of good. I have no doubts that Romulus has a new base of operations, not to mention many new underlings. Before too long I will have to find this base and conjure up a little raid. Not to mention that I feel my spirituality rising, so maybe I can hone my skills a little sharper.'_ Galahad thought. Putting his thoughts to action, he picked up his gladius and a camouflaged cloak he had made, and headed out into the brightening day, ready to surprise the forces of Hell.

-

Kagome and InuYasha climbed out of the well to be greeted by Shippo, Miroku, Sango and Kaede. Instead of her usual backpack, Kagome instead had a huge army-surplus supply bag with her now, and it was jam-packed full of stuff. Kagome was back in her normal clothes.

"Kagome, what was it that ye and InuYasha had to rush back to the modern age to see?" Kaede asked.

"I'll explain on the way." she replied. Kagome then relayed what had happened as they trudged back to Kaede's hut.

"I have had former soldiers tell me they were bothered by the memories of war. They came to me for counseling, but I've never heard of one having an experience that ye describe." Kaede said thoughtfully after they entered the hut and sat down. As they came in, InuYasha went over to a corner, dug out Kagome's wakizashi, and tossed it to her. She caught it in midair, and strapped it to her side. Kaede went and poured herself a cup of herbal tea.

"Are you serious? Galahad actually did that?" Sango asked.

"Yes, he did actually go after Souta, and afterward asked Souta to execute him as punishment." Kagome replied.

"Reminds me of when InuYasha's youkai blood was unleashed." Shippo said with a tremble as he said it.

"He has a huge sense of honor. I can see why he did that. Well, what now?" Miroku asked.

"Galahad's nowhere around here that's for sure. He went back through the well after what happened in Souta's room and has gone who knows where. I faintly smelled his scent after getting out of the well, but I couldn't pick up a direction." InuYasha said. "It won't do any good to try and find him now anyways, we'll probably just get in his way." InuYasha then told them what Galahad had told them about Romulus.

"In that case, we need to start rounding up all the allies we can find. We're going to need all the help we can get for taking this Romulus down. I guess the best people we can start out with would be the wolf youkai packs." Miroku said.

"Kouga and his bunch? Hell no! He'll just get in the way!" InuYasha protested. CRACK! InuYasha now lay on the floor with a pump knot rising out of his head from Miroku's staff blow. "What the hell was that for!" InuYasha asked angrily as he sat back up.

"We can't be choosy of our allies at a time like this." Miroku said sternly, then continued. "Kouga's got two Jewel Shards in his legs remember? Those could be very useful. We should also see if we can get Ayame and her pack in on this as well."

"Miroku, I just remembered something. There are other youkai exterminators around. I think we should also try to find them too." Sango said.

"Wait a minute. I thought you said _you_ were the last of the youkai exterminators?" InuYasha asked.

"I meant that I am the last of my particular clan and household of them, along with Kohaku. Our village was the best known of the exterminator villages, because we were the elite, but there are others. Their skill may be less than what ours was, but they're still quite formidable, and will be particularly useful. There's only one problem, however."

"And what's that?" Kagome asked.

"Their weapons. My village was also the best among the exterminators because we had the ability, thanks to Midoriko's cave, to make our weapons out of actual youkai parts, making them much more effective. The other exterminators don't have that luxury. They have to make do instead with anointing normal weapons with special oils, so their weapons aren't as good as ours were."

"I know a way around that. That won't be a problem." InuYasha said.

"How? Nobody but me, Kohaku, and you guys can enter Midoriko's cave now, and meanwhile I'm the only one left now that knows my clan's secrets to weapon making."

"Totosai. That's the answer. Sango, what we'll do is that we'll go and get all the youkai parts and stuff that are still in your village and take 'em to him. Hopefully swords aren't just the only thing he can make. Keh, he might just be able to do a better job and churn out stuff that's even better than what your kind ever made." InuYasha said with a grin.

"InuYasha, I never knew you to have such intellect." Miroku said with a slight grin, warning a growl from InuYasha. Miroku's face then turned serious. "The next time we run into Galahad, we need to inform him of Totosai's abilities too. Galahad just may find a need for his skills as well."

"Well, now that we've got a plan laid out, can we get going? The sooner we get the wolf packs and the exterminators rounded up and equipped, the sooner we can help Galahad out." Sango said.

"Agreed. Let's not waste anymore time." Miroku said. They then got up and left to go and find Kouga and his pack.

-

Several hundred feet above the lands surrounding Mt. Hakurei, a familiar large white feather and it's skilled wind user were cruising along. Kagura was carrying a passenger with her, Kohaku.

"Madam Kagura, did Master Naraku give you any general directions at all about where to find the graves of these Shichinintai?" Kohaku asked. He was in his youkai exterminator outfit, his sickle and chain stored on his back.

"No he didn't. I'm pretty agitated that he didn't either. We may wind up searching for days and maybe weeks. I'm glad however that we don't need to have this done quick. Naraku surprisingly said not to be in any hurry on this and to take as much time as needed to make sure we find the exact location of their graves. Kohaku, you may just wind up having to go undercover and ask the people in the villages about them."

"I understand." Kohaku replied.

'_That he said not to be in any hurry tells me something definitely happened to Naraku in there, but what? What happened to cause him to freak out like that?'_ Kagura wondered, thinking back to what she had witnessed yesterday.

_She was walking the halls of the temple on Mt. Hakurei when she saw that black robed wraith float across the hall and enter Naraku's sitting room. She started running toward the doorway, intent on seeing what was going on when all of a sudden she felt her body freeze in place. _

'_What? Why can't I move?' She thought, and struggled to move. She started to hear a massive roaring sound, and her body abruptly turned and started walking down the hall the way she had came, as if acting of its own accord. 'Grrr! No! I want to see!' Her mind screamed, struggling at the mental bonds that controlled her, but then a voice that sounded like metal grating on stone cut through her thoughts._

"_What is in the room beyond is not for thine eyes. Your master interferes where he is not allowed, and he must learn of his mistake." It said. _

'_Who are you?' Kagura asked with her mind, while her body stepped outside of the temple and halted in the courtyard. _

'_My name is not important. But what is important is that your master goes into hiding and stops trying to interfere with the will of Master Lucifer.' It said, its tone changing none._

'_Master Lucifer?' Kagura asked, but no answer came. Instead, her body stood stiffly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kohaku walking toward her, his face a blank expression, and Kanna following. 'Whatever the hell that thing is, it must have control of them too. Damnit! I want to see what is happening!' She thought. As if in response, she regained control of her body, and she fell to the ground. She climbed to her knees to see Kohaku looking at her._

"_What was **that**?" He asked, pulling out his sickle blade._

"_We have a visitor. Come on, lets see what he is up to." Kagura got to her feet and started running back to Naraku's room, eager to see what had happened. As she neared the door, she pulled out her fan and got ready to let loose a barrage of her Fujin no Mai attacks. She cautiously stepped through the door to see Naraku slumped on the floor, his eyes wide and his body drenched in sweat. The room had a strong odor of sulfur, and there were scorch marks marking the far wall, in the outline of Naraku's body. "Where did that robed abomination go?" She said, scanning the room._

_No answer came from Naraku for some moments, but then he suddenly started babbling incoherently, as if he had seen some ghastly horror. Then he seemed to regain himself, and looked up at his two slave-like followers._

"_Leave me, if you value your lives!" He said, almost shouting. Heeding those words, both Kohaku and Kagura turned and fled from the room, wondering what had happened to their master._

It had been several hours after that that Naraku had allowed them to reenter the room and given them their current orders. After that, he had called Kanna over to him and both had then started to disappear, Naraku saying that after they'd found the graves to return and Kanna would tell them what to do next, him and Kanna vanishing afterwards.

"I'm still thinking about what happened yesterday. Master Naraku has never acted like that before." said Kohaku.

"I am too Kohaku. But it's out of our hands what to do about it. The only thing we can do is get this current task completed. Hold on, I'm going to land near that village over there." Kagura pointed as she then pushed the feather into a slow descent towards a wooded area a short distance from the village she was referring to.

_-_

"Where on earth are these new oni coming from?" Ayame wondered. She had started on her long, sad trek back to the mountains after being rejected by Kouga several weeks earlier when she had started running into these abominations of nature. She'd tried to take one on, but found her attacks had been useless against it, and she'd wisely fled instead of fought and was now back to tracking Kouga down. _'He may not want me now, but maybe escorting me back to the mountains will change his attitude about me. These creatures are too dangerous to try and head back alone.'_ She thought. Then a scent hit her that she'd known she'd smelled before. She came to a stop and sniffed more carefully. It took her a few moments to place it, but then it hit her. It was the same scent as that human girl Kouga claimed he was going to take as his mate, Kagome! She also soon caught the scents of those who were traveling with her too. _'Wonder what they're out doing?'_ Ayame thought, and started off in their direction.

It didn't take her long to track them down, but they were still shocked to see her approach. The white haired, doggy eared one (wasn't InuYasha his name?) drew his massive sword as she approached, but then sheathed it when she reappeared out of the tornado.

"Ayame? What are you doing here? Weren't you have supposed to have gone back to your pack?" Kagome asked as Ayame walked up to them.

"I was, but I started running into these strange, brown-colored, thorned hominids. I was able to take them out, but then I started running into stronger creatures with heads and legs of goats and torsos and arms of men. My attacks had no effect so I had to flee them." she replied. InuYasha shot her a stern look.

"You know, you're lucky to be alive. Those creatures you ran into are a new type of oni that have appeared that are pure evil incarnate. You were smart to run from them." InuYasha said, then was promptly shoved aside by Miroku.

"You've seen them too?" He asked.

"That's right." Ayame said.

"We're on our way right now to find Kouga. We need to get as many good-willed youkai together so that we can to tackle these things." Sango said. A serious look came to Ayame's face.

"I'd go back to my mountains then and round up all of the Elder's soldiers, but that's why I'm still in this area. I've started looking for Kouga too so I could try and get him to escort me back. I'll help you out then. After we find him, him and I will go and rally the wolf tribes together and return with them." she said.

"You got any idea where Kouga is?" InuYasha asked.

"I think I do. I'd just caught his scent when I caught yours. Follow me."

Ayame then waited as Kagome climbed on InuYasha's back and the others climbed on Kirara, and they then followed Ayame off into the woods.

-

Galahad halted. He was standing in the middle of a huge grassy field, looking at the hulking castle off in the distance. _'Is this Romulus' fortress? No, I sense no Satanic presence, but one like that of Sesshomaru.'_ Galahad thought. Pulling his cloak around to allow some of the breeze to pass and cool him off, Galahad started toward the castle. As he walked, the wind brought the faint sound of a child's laughter from the castle, not to mention its spiritual presence.

"A child? In the middle of a fortress like that? Maybe it is a child of one of the dwellers." Galahad thought aloud and quickened his pace. As he neared the castle, he could pick out the child frolicking through a patch of flowers, chasing what appeared to be a bug of some kind.

"Halt! You I say! Halt!" A soldier called at Galahad, pointing a curved sword at him. Galahad did not halt, but continued to stride towards the soldier. As he neared the soldier, Galahad could see and feel that he was not a human, but one of those youkai creatures, his presence similar to that of Sesshomaru's.

"I mean no harm. But I do have a question. Where is Lord Sesshomaru?" Galahad said, walking right up to the edge of the sword. The soldier stared at Galahad's face for a moment, as if mystified at the strangeness of Galahad's face. Galahad smiled a fake smile. "I look different than you, don't I? Well, tell the Lord of the Western Lands that Galahad has asked to speak with him when he returns. I will return in a few days to see if he is here." The child, who turned out to be a little girl, looked at Galahad with a typical look of awe. It reminded Galahad so much of the children of his time that it threatened to break his hold on the void. He looked at the child. She had an air around her much like that of Kagome, just in a younger version.

"Wow. You know Lord Sesshomaru too?" She asked.

"Yes, but not very well. If your bodyguard here can't remember, tell him that I wish to speak to him, okay?" He said. She nodded and proceeded to run away again, singing and laughing. The soldier looked at Galahad a moment longer, then took off after the small child, telling her to slow down.

In the map inside of his head, Galahad marked this position. He would definitely have to return here. He needed to talk to Sesshomaru, even if he barely knew him. Galahad sped off, heading back to his base, his plans had now changed. He had realized just then he was too exhausted to conduct any sort of raid at this time. He returned within a few minutes and seated himself in his picked meditative spot. He somehow felt at home here within his underground fortress, he figured it was the fact that he had to talk in the low speech to get anything done around here, and it felt good to speak the native language again. As he fell into the recesses of meditation, one image remained in his head, that little girl, looking at him with those amazed eyes. She looked so much like that child from before it made him want to cry from the memory. Then the meditation lapsed into sleep, since he had not slept in two days.

_From a distance the white city might have looked like it had clouds surrounding its high spires, but from within its depths one would see that it was the smoke pouring from the fires that raged from within the buildings. Even as Galahad and his men battled the demonic invaders, refugees were fleeing the city, trying to get away before the city was overran. _

"_Sir, the left quadrant has fallen!" A soldier called to Galahad, who was relaying information to another soldier from within a ruined building._

"_What! But that is near a shuttle!" Galahad said. Without thought, he called up his squad and started down the street. The sounds of battle echoed through the forest of steel and concrete, along with the screams of the dying. 'The scum cannot get to the shuttle! And I will not let those civilians get caught up in this!' Galahad thought as he ran, loading the grenade launcher attached to the bottom of his plasma rifle. He whipped around a corner to see a mass of cybernetically enhanced demons firing upon the fleeing civilians. Galahad reared back with his grenade launcher and fired. PLONK! The grenade twirled in the air and landed in the midst of the advancing demons. Bodies and body parts flew, and demon blood splattered all over the roadway. _

_Galahad and his men got between the refugees and the demons, acting as a bulwark against their attack. The soldiers who were here before had taken positions on the sides of the road, using fallen rubble as cover. Galahad went prone in a shell hole and gave the order to open fire. The rippling bursts of plasma and shells tore into the demons, but they did not falter. One of them, a knight with a sword for an arm, raised his remaining hand and made some unusual hand signal. Galahad prepared for a charge from the mass, but they did not charge. Instead, a hidden mass of small gargoyles flew out of the surrounding buildings and swarmed the surprised warriors. _

_Galahad's gladius was snapped out of its sheath and through the midsection of a demon in the wink of an eye. He kicked another in the head, his armored boot crushing in its face, apparently these demons were quite weak. 'Wait, if these pesky annoyances are attacking, then that means the demons are up to something else!' Galahad thought. He looked through the strange melee to see the demons working their way around a building to get at the civilians! _

"_Break combat! CHARGE!" Galahad shouted, pointing his sword at the demons. The human elites roared and flung themselves at the demons. Galahad stopped a demon from blasting a civilian and delivered a bone smashing roundhouse kick to the side of the head. He followed by upward slashing a knight in two, ducking under his meager defenses. As the demon's bloody corpse wet the pavement, Galahad saw an imp rearing back to claw a child! He ran at the imp, smacking another imp who tried to get in his way. Galahad reached the demon just as the boy jumped back, the claw swipe running deep into his leg. Galahad ran his blade through the imp and kicked him down. He turned to the now crippled child and yanked him off the turf and hefted the boy on his shoulder. Carrying the child, Galahad made like a wide receiver and sprinted through the combat, throwing his gladius through a knight's head, not bothering to retrieve it. He made it to the shuttlecraft, just as it started to lift off the ground. He signaled to one of the soldiers who was shooting out of the open back loading door and leapt into the air. He then threw the child, heaving all of his strength into the throw. The soldier had seen the signal and deftly caught the child, carrying him into the recesses of the space craft. As Galahad met the hard pavement again he rolled back into a standing position, whipping out his shotgun pistol and started spraying ten-gauge buckshot into the nearby demons. He continued to lead his men in sort of a retreating battle across the city, using every possible trick to raise the amount of demonic casualties, but all the while the image of the child's face remained in his mind. He knew that there was a possibility that the child would not survive from the wound, and he knew that the youth deserved life. He could not understand it, but he could feel the child's soul, and what he saw reminded him of what he was protecting, and it made him fight all the harder. _

Galahad's eyes rolled open, and the pain of falling asleep while cross legged sang through him. He groaned and got to his feet, stretching his legs to try to take away some of the pain. Thinking back to his flashback dream, he now truly understood what he had felt when he was carrying the child through the fight. He had felt the child's soul and mind, and felt his conscience, bathing in its purity. Using the memory as an example, he now understood what he had to do to raise his spirituality even higher.

-

It had been a frustrating several weeks. After they had had the run with the hair youkai at his former castle, Naraku's trail had completely gone cold, and Kouga's frustration was starting to boil over.

CRACK!C-C-C-CRRRAAASSSH! WHOOM! Another tree fell from a power kick delivered by a very frustrated wolf prince.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! How could Naraku have so completely vanished!" Kouga shouted to nobody in particular as he kicked another tree down.

"Kouga, Kouga! Calm down! Taking your frustrations out on the forest ain't gonna help us find Naraku!" Ginta said.

"Yeah, and besides that, you're making a big ruckus too. Someone or something may just be headed this way wondering what's going on." Hakkaku chimed in as well. Kouga stopped for a second.

"Have you two buffoons completely forgotten that Naraku and Kagura killed our packmates? Have you? It's for their sake that we're doing this. They're probably all screaming at me in their graves for not have taken down Naraku earlier." Kouga shouted back at them, then sitting down to rest.

"Well, well, looks like wolf-boy has gone into a temper tantrum. What's wrong Kouga? Naraku's elusiveness getting to ya?" InuYasha said as he walked out of the nearby trees in front of the wolf prince, smirking at him. Kouga was up in an instant and in his face.

"What? Are you saying you've got a lead on that motherfucking bastard?" Kouga shouted directly into InuYasha's face. It was at that moment that Kagome and the others came out of the woods too, and Kagome ran up to InuYasha and Kouga.

"Would you two stop it already?" She said to both of them.

"Oh, Kagome. I see you're still hanging around with dog-shit. Finally decided that I'm--" Kouga was cut off by a hard kick to the middle of his back.

"Kouga, you CANNOT, and WILL NOT be taking Kagome as a mate. Not now, NOT EVER!" Ayame shouted at him. Kouga turned over, and a look of shock came to his face.

"Ayame! Wha-why are you here? I…I thought you went back to the northern mountains." Kouga said in a very nervous voice.

"I couldn't head back that's why. New, strange, powerful creatures have been emerging lately, and I can't go back without an escort."

"What kind of creatures? I've never seen anything strange lately. What are you talking about?" Kouga then asked has he got back up.

"Kouga, very powerful oni, more powerful than any that have ever been encountered, are appearing. And they're probably appearing in large numbers too. We've had several run-ins with them over the past several weeks, and need both yours and the help of Ayame's pack to help take them down." Miroku explained.

"Since when did these oni suddenly become more important than Naraku?" Kouga asked. As Kouga was speaking, a black robed figure stepped from the shadows of the forest. They all turned to see the figure face them, a red pentagram sown into the front of the robe.

"I'll answer that question for you. Naraku has been dealt with for the time being, and he won't interfere with what _I_ have planned for a long, long time." The figure said.

"So you say that you've already killed him? Why didn't you leave any for me?" Kouga said, not noticing the strong sulfur smell. The figure pulled the cowl off his head, showing a shiny mass of black hair, and a face molded in a similar way to Galahad's. But what really stood out was the glowing red eyes.

"Look at his eyes!" Hakkaku then said, trembling. Miroku then gasped.

"Could this be-" He started.

"I am." Romulus nodded. "And I will see you all dead now." He pulled the cloak from his body, revealing a pale, but hard muscled body underneath, and a pair of shorts not unlike Galahad's. He drew his gladius, its black blade eating all the light around it.

"So this is Romulus." InuYasha said, pulling the Fang from its sheath. "I've been looking forward to fighting you."

"Really? Then prepare for the ass whooping of your life, bitch boy." Romulus said, rather amused. Then he bellowed like a demon, the black speech coming forth. To Kagome's eyes, a red aura of pure rage and hatred arose around him, and seeped into his body, making it pulse raw evil.

Kagome didn't hestitate and whipped out her bow, and with Kikyo-like precision, knocked and fired an arrow at Romulus. Romulus deftly caught it from the air and it disintegrated in his hand, ashes falling to the ground. He then ran at InuYasha, sword held in a low guard stance. InuYasha reared back with the Tetsusaiga and cleaved at Romulus, who smacked at the Tetsusaiga hard enough to lift InuYasha from the ground. InuYasha tried to thrust at him, but Romulus stepped out of the way and grabbed the top to the blade and pulled InuYasha toward him. InuYasha's surprise left him completely open for the rib cracking punch that Romulus delivered to him. Inuyasha was sent flying, his body being snuffed into the dirt. Romulus grinned and ran at InuYasha, rearing back to cleave him into multiple pieces.

"I don't think so!" Kouga said, swinging at Romulus. Romulus leaned back, and the punch met air.

"So the other faggot wants to play, very well." Romulus said. Kouga roared with rage and flew at him in his tornado. With unnatural speed, Romulus hopped out of the way and then disappeared into a blurry shape.

Within his tornado, Kouga could see Romulus step into it and mirror his every move.

"You are faster than the long haired one, but do you think you can go as fast as me?"

"Bring it on, cocky bastard!" Kouga said. Little did he know what he was getting into. Because of the pain, Kouga knew he was getting hit a LOT, but Romulus was moving so fast that he could barely follow his movements. Next thing he knew he saw a tree, and the world went black. Romulus reappeared as Kouga was sent flying, and looked at the remainder of the party. Ginta and Hakkaku hid in the nearby woods, paralyzed with fear.

"_Hiraikotsu_!" Sango shouted, and flung her massive boomerang just as Romulus became visible. Romulus ducked and snatched it out of the air, a look of sadistic glee coming to his face.

"_Kaze no Kizu_!" InuYasha shouted, and smacked the Tetsusaiga into the dirt. The wound of the wind streaked at Romulus, who seemed to only look at it until the very last moment, then all of a sudden he was standing next to InuYasha, swinging the boomerang he had 'acquired' from Sango with both hands. InuYasha flung up the Fang to try to block the attack, and was pushed to his knees.

"Try as you might, but you will never in a hundred lifetimes have the strength to beat me, boy. Now burn and suffer!" Then Romulus proceeded to smack InuYasha a few times with the Hiraikotsu. InuYasha was now laid out flat, unconscious. Romulus, satisfied with that amount of torture, tossed the demon slayer weapon aside and drew his gladius. He turned toward Kagome and started walking towards her. Kagome, visibly shaking with fear, drew her wakizashi, it glowing pink.

"For you, I must use this weapon, for it alone has the power to leech out your abilities and give them to me." Romulus said, admiring his weapon. He sped up and whipped around Miroku's, Sango's, and Ayame's vain attempts to get in the way. Next thing Kagome knew she now had a strong hand around her throat and she was off the ground. In shock, she dropped her weapon and her hands flew to her throat, and she began trying to pry off the iron grip. He was rearing back to behead her when he was sent flying from an unseen attack. Kagome dropped to the ground, gagging and gasping for breath.

"/I never expected you to come out of your new base without support, Romulus./" Galahad said in low speech. Romulus whipped around, and his expression changed from glee to rage.

"/Well, it looks like you managed to survive the blast, Galahad. I must admit that you are good. But I have gotten stronger, and you will find me more of a challenge./" Romulus said.

"/Maybe for a fight, but not for the trusty Soul Cube./" Galahad said, pulling out the winged figurine. Romulus' angry expression disappeared and became emotionless.

"/For once in this puny world, I am out gunned. I will return sometime Galahad, and you will tremble at my power/" Romulus said, and he said some chant in the black speech, and faded away. Galahad stood there for a moment, then a wide grin spread across his face. He put the Soul Cube away, and stretched.

"Well, it looks like he took the bait. Maybe now I can get some more rest." Galahad said, scratching his back. Ginta and Hakkaku then started slowly slink out of their hiding places.

"Um, what are you talking about?" Shippou asked.

"I pulled out the Soul Cube and threatened to use it, and he ran away, thinking I have the ability to use it. But in fact he fell for my ruse, and now I bet he's kicking himself over it." Galahad said, grinning again.

"Do you mean that it is useless at the moment?" Miroku said, smiling.

"Yep, right now it's nothing more than a sharp throwing object. There's no way it has enough power to kill him. Stupid ain't he?" Galahad turned around and noticed the wolf like man laid out at the foot of a tree, his two trembling comapanions and a wolf like girl looking at him, stupefied. "Who are they?" He asked.

"The beat up one is Kouga, the terrified pair is Ginta and Hakkaku, and the girl is Ayame. They are allies." Sango said, explaining why they seem wolf like. Galahad introduced himself to Ayame, Ginta and Hakkaku, and looked over the unconscious Kouga and InuYasha, shaking his head.

"I warned InuYasha that he does not have the power to even scratch Romulus, yet he fought. You all should have ran, if you had the chance." Galahad said, hefting InuYasha and motioning to Miroku to get Kouga. "Lets take then back to my place, I can heal them there."

"Galahad, why did Romulus attack me?" Kagome asked, still rubbing her neck and picking up her wakizashi, then sheathing it.

"He wanted to take your spiritual power, so he could use it in a summoning ritual. He must be trying to summon greater demons, or he already has and wants more." Galahad replied.

Sango ordered Kirara to grow to her huge size in the meantime.

"Galahad, Miroku, here. Put Kouga and InuYasha on Kirara's back. She can move them without jouncing them too much." Miroku complied and placed Kouga on the fire-neko's back, Galahad doing so as well. They then followed Galahad back to his cryogenics facility. Along the way, Galahad told them how he had found them, saying he had been out scouting for demons when he sensed Romulus' presence. It was sometime later when they approached a seemingly collapsed cave entrance when Galahad motioned for them to stop as he continued on. Everybody's jaws dropped to the ground as they then saw Galahad seemingly walk through the rock face into the mountain! They then heard Galahad say something in his native tongue, followed by several high-pitched whirring noises.

"All clear now. Come on through, it's just an illusion. Ginta and Hakkaku, you two remain outside." they then heard him say. They hesitantly walked forward and carefully stepped through the hologram into the cave, Galahad then leading them to the door and in.

"Galahad, what were those noises we heard?" Sango asked.

"Me disarming the automated defenses I put up to keep them from killing everyone. Now follow me." As they followed him into the depths of the facility, Ayame's eyes wandered around in complete awe.

"What is this place?" she then wondered aloud.

"This is my cryogenics facility where I slept for 6,000 years. It's the closest thing I have to a home" Galahad replied, without looking back as he entered the medical ward. Inside, he laid InuYasha and Kouga on separate tables, then told everyone to stand back as he pressed a button. Two discs then came out of the ceiling, one over each bed, and light then wafted from each one over InuYasha and Kouga. While this was going on, Galahad seated himself at a computer console and plugged some wires into the back of his head, then began typing at blurring speed. On the computer screens, DNA sequences, pictures of InuYasha and Kouga's skeletons, and other odd indescribable pictures flashed. Everybody except Kagome had no idea what was going on, and Kagome's was only a general idea. Galahad then unplugged himself, stood up, and walked over to a cabinet, pulling two rather large syringes, each one with a two-inch needle protruding from it. Now everybody was mystified as he stuck each syringe in a bottle, filled them a little ways, then flicked at them a tad. He then walked back over to the tables, laying a syringe on each of them. "Now behold, the abilities science can bring." Galahad then poked Kouga in the leg with the syringe and injected all of the clear fluid. Miraculously, Kouga's injuries then seemed to slowly disappear. He then walked over to InuYasha, but before injecting him, Galahad set his body such that when he injected the fluid, his broken bones would heal properly. He then injected InuYasha, with the same results.

"What did you just do?" Shippo asked.

"Well, I did a bioscan to figure out how much I needed to give them, and gave them shots. Now they should be in perfect shape. In the meantime, we should go ahead and get them out of here." Galahad replied. They loaded Kouga and InuYasha back up on Kirara and proceeded to leave. On the way out, Miroku informed Galahad of their plans to get the wolf-youkai tribes, and the remaining youkai-exterminators together, along with getting Totosai to forge weaponry. "Well, this is good. I plan to do the same with Sesshomaru and any forces he has. Maybe we actually will have something resembling an army to face these demons with. But I must see these youkai slayers myself to see if they are worthy of skill." Miroku and Sango then heard Galahad mutter under his breath: "Though I wish there was another human cherubim warrior around. That would make this so much easier." Neither of them understood it though, so they thought nothing of it. It was then that they exited the facility. Kagome, Ayame and the others then said their goodbyes to Galahad and proceeded on back to Kaede's village to let InuYasha and Kouga finish recovering.


	14. Chapter 14

Futuristic Warrior From the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

_Authors' Note: In this chapter, when Galahad speaks to a certain divine visitor, Archangel Michael, the language they both use is Hebrew._

_Kusari-gama: Japanese name for Kohaku's chain and sickle. Literally means 'chain-sickle'._

Chapter XIV

InuYasha awoke with every bone in his body aching. He felt as if Sesshomaru had tied him up to a tree and then proceeded to use him as a kicking and punching bag. He was also very, very thirsty too, to the point that he felt he needed a drink of something, anything, and he needed it now!

"Owwww." He groaned. "Kagome, you got any of those bottles of water of yours?" He said painfully.

"Oh, you're finally waking up!" Kagome said as she rushed over to her backpack, retrieved a bottle and brought it to him.

Across from him, Kouga was awakening too with similar pains.

"What the hell happened to me? Last thing I saw was that tree…" Kouga said groggily. Shippo dug another bottle out of Kagome's pack and brought it to him too.

"Here, drink up, both of you. Drink as much as you can handle. You've both become dehydrated." Kagome then said as she helped InuYasha lift the bottle to his mouth and he began to chug the water greedily. Kouga was the first to look at himself as he chugged also.

"What? No bruises? And I can see out of both eyes? Before I hit the tree, I could remember bleeding pretty badly and one of my eyes had swollen shut. What's happened to me?" He looked and saw a strange bandage on his leg too, where Galahad had poked him with the syringe. "And what's this?"

"Yeah, Kagome? We both should still be shaken up pretty bad, despite our youkai-enhanced healing." said InuYasha.

"Well, Galahad showed up in the nick of time to save all of us." Sango said, then telling them both about what happened after they'd been laid out.

"Why that motherfucking S.O.B.! Why didn't Galahad kill him right then and there?" InuYasha said angrily when she finished, growling in a feral manner too as he said it.

"Now I wish I'd been awake so I could've kicked this Galahad for not finishing the fucking job! To think that freak Romulus laid one of his filthy hands on Kagome! GRRRR!" Kouga also said, growling as well.

"I think Galahad and Romulus both weren't expecting, or prepared, to fight one another. That's probably why Galahad didn't do it. His Soul Cube wasn't charged up any, so he knew it would've been a waste to try." Miroku said, rubbing his chin.

"You're saying this Galahad is a good version of that freak Romulus?" Kouga asked.

"They're like Ying and Yang, basically. Complete opposites." Miroku replied. Just then Ayame entered the hut, and smiled.

"Kouga! You're awake! Kagome, is he ready to leave?" she then asked.

"Not yet. He's dehydrated. He will be after he has a few more bottles of water." Ayame then looked at Kouga with a stone-cold stare.

"As soon as you're re-hydrated and have your strength back, you and I are taking a trip to the northern mountains. I'm dragging you along if I have to." she said.

"Why?" Kouga asked, pole-axed.

"To rally together all of grandfather's warriors and bring them down here. That Galahad guy said an army is going to be needed to take on this Romulus and his cronies." she replied. Kouga growled some from that.

"What about Naraku?" he asked. That earned him a crack on the head from Miroku's staff.

"Naraku's not important at the moment. We haven't forgotten about him, but this Romulus is _much_ more dangerous." Miroku then said sternly. Kouga growled again.

"Ayame, you and Kouga should be able to leave by nightfall." Kagome said.

"Good." replied Ayame.

"Kagome? What are we going to do tomorrow?" Shippo then spoke up.

"We, meanwhile," InuYasha started, "are going to take a trip to Sango's village. That's what."

"InuYasha, are you wanting to get an inventory of all the youkai parts that are still in the village and cave?" Sango asked.

"Uh huh. And while we're there Sango, you're going to also look through any writings you can find to try to get a lead on where some of the other taijiya villages are." InuYasha replied.

"That'll be easy. Father kept detailed maps and directions to where the other villages are located in case we ever needed to go to them for help and assistance. He kept them in a specially sealed and hidden vault under our house. That vault and those maps should still be there, undisturbed."

"That's good. Hey wolf, you ever use that katana you always keep at your side?" InuYasha then asked Kouga, pointing at the red-hilted sword sheathed on Kouga's hip.

"What's it to you, dog-shit?"

"Just answer the stupid question."

"No, I don't use it. It's just a trophy. I swiped it from a samurai I killed one time, before I became pack leader." InuYasha then shook his head.

"What's the use in having that damn sword then if you're not gonna use it? You're more lame brained than I thought! Why don't you give it to me so I can take it to the old codger who made my sword? Maybe he can turn it into a REAL weapon you can actually use." Kouga growled at him.

"My feet and hands are enough thank you! You aren't letting anybody touch my trophy! Why are you interested in helping me anyway?" he replied. InuYasha then got up, walked over and got in Kouga's face.

"Having a real weapon gives you a better chance of survival the next time you and Ayame run into those oni you stupid wolf! I may not like you, but you're still an ally during this predicament, and allies aren't any damn good if they're dead. But obviously, you've already made up your mind. Suit yourself then." Kouga then growled fiercely at InuYasha as InuYasha sat back down. A quick, hard slap on Kouga's cheek from Ayame silenced him however as she gave him an angry look.

"Kouga, you might want to rethink that decision. These oni of Romulus' are very tough, so tough that even InuYasha has been having a lot of trouble in killing them." Miroku said.

"Feh. If I can move faster than them, than what's the need for a stupid sword?" Kouga replied. Miroku raised his hands in resignation at that, and sighed.

"I give up." he then said. Ayame then reached down and removed the sheathed, red-hilted sword that was on her hip.

"Here InuYasha, you can take mine and see if your smith can improve it any. By the way your sword looks when you use it, he must be good." she said as she tossed the sword over to him. InuYasha deftly caught it with one hand.

"Hey, wait a minute, Ayame! You're not actually taking up that mangy-mutt's offer are you?" Kouga then asked. That earned him another hard slap from her.

"Yes, I am. And you're not stopping me either!" she then said angrily. InuYasha had now gotten up and unsheathed Ayame's sword to look at it. The blade transformed and changed its shape as he drew it, lengthening out. The end also widened out too, such that the blade looked like a 4-foot long cutlass to Kagome. InuYasha then got up and swung it a little to test the heft.

"Hmm, not bad Ayame. What's it made out of?" InuYasha asked as he looked the blade over.

"It was made by my tribe's weapon smith from a fang donated by one of our best warriors. It uses its youki to open wide wounds in opponents you slash with it. However, it was useless against those oni I ran into. That's why I had to flee from them. So, you think your smith can make it better?"

"He should be able to. My Tetsusaiga's the most powerful sword he's ever made. Its capable of slaughtering 100 weak youkai in one sweep via it's _Kaze no Kizu_ technique. Surely he can improve this thing." InuYasha said as he sheathed Ayame's sword.

-

The day after InuYasha's group left, Galahad returned to his studies on the Soul Cube, trying to find exactly what released the huge amount of spiritual energy contained within it. He worked on it for a time, and proceeded to get nowhere. He tried scanning the device, and the beams could not read in the exact area where he thought the core was. Prying it apart was pointless, for it would more than likely self destruct, sending some nasty shrapnel Galahad's way. He gave up on it for the day and decided to meditate again, this time choosing the top of the hill his cryogenics facility was carved in. He picked his thoughts apart, sifting through everything, plotting out what he would say when he returned to Sesshomaru's castle, how exactly he would use the secrets of Soul Cube technology if he managed to unlock them, and what he would do to upgrade his weapons and armor. His train of thought was suddenly derailed as he felt a supernatural presence closing in on him. Galahad opened his eyes and stood up. He saw what appeared to be a winged figure soaring down from the sky, heading his way. '_What's this? A real cherubim? Has Yahweh really sent someone of this magnitude to help me?' _Galahad thought, disbelieving himself. The angelic figure landed a little ways from him and walked up to Galahad, and Galahad truly realized who he was gazing upon and dropped to his knees, fist across chest.

"/Archangel Michael, you do great honor to me./" Galahad said, lowering his gaze and closing his eyes. He felt the Archangel stop in front of him.

"/Rise Galahad, for I bring news from the Creator of the Light. And we must talk./" A calm, crystal clear voice said. Galahad could not exactly describe it, it was so magnificent in pitch and sound. Galahad rose and looked to the great warrior that stood before him. True to what the sayings said, Michael had four wings that spread from his back, instead of two. Garbed in robes of light emanating cloth, Galahad was sure that Michael could easily be one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen, not just in a physical way, but the spiritual power that radiated from the Archangel was strong enough to enhance all that was nearby, flowers came to bloom, grass turned from brown to a fierce green, and Galahad felt like a new man, revitalized in every way.

"/I serve and obey. What is it that Yahweh commands, Archangel/" Galahad said in his stiffest, most respectful tone.

"/We know of the efforts of the betrayer Lucifer and his many followers. I have come to tell you that once you defeat Romulus' attempt to bring Armageddon before its set time, it will not stop there./"

"/I understand. So I am to return once again, but alone this time? How will I survive/" Galahad asked, feeling an unpleasant feeling return.

"/Yes, I am sorry to say that you must walk in the land of the dead again, but I assure you that you will be the utmost prepared this time. I present to you a great boon from Yahweh himself./" The Archangel seemed to reach into the sky, and pull a blade from out of thin air. It was not unlike Galahad's gladius, but over twice in length and width. "/This is Omnimus, a sword whose materials were crafted by Yahweh himself, and forged by Brother Gabriel. This is beyond the might of your already potent gladius. This is the might of **God** himself, so use it wisely, and in the name of justice./" The Archangel pulled a sheath from the air, encrusted with crystals and white metal like the blade of Omnimus. Michael sheathed the blade of divine retribution and presented it to Galahad. Galahad gingerly accepted it from Michael and pulled forth the blade. Suddenly he felt a surge of power flicker across his body like lightning, and the hilt of Omnimus began to throb holy power into Galahad's hand.

"/I…I feel different./" Galahad said, and he looked around. He was utterly amazed by what he saw. Everything seemed to glow now, and that glow represented every living thing's life force. Everything had a new sense of beauty to it. He could see and feel every blade of grass, rock and grain of sand, and every leaf and piece of bark on a tree. He had never felt so alive in his life.

"/To fully be able to wield Omnimus, I had to give you some of Yahweh's and my own power. I must say now that you are the single most powerful human being on the face of the planet. Think for a moment Galahad, because now you must be careful with your new power. When I leave you, you will understand how to use it, and how it is to be used, as in sparingly. It will drain your physical body some if you overuse it. Lastly, I give you the divine command to execute Romulus for treason against Yahweh and all of his followers./" The last words the Archangel said were rippling with holy anger.

"/I hear, and obey. I will see Romulus dead, even if it costs me my life./" Galahad said.

-

After receiving Omnimus, Galahad returned to his hold and put his fully repaired armor back on. He knew that now was the time to speak to Lord Sesshomaru, and reason out a way to get the lord and his army to fight for Galahad against Romulus. After attaching his armor, he turned to a mirror to attach Omnimus to his back, and noticed a change. Galahad's reflection stared back him, but now his white hair had become longer, the back hanging to his shoulders and his bangs about his eyebrows. His eyes had darkened a shade of blue, and his face had aged and hardened somewhat, but it still held a great deal of youth and vitality.

"Tis the price of accepting some of Yahweh's power." Galahad said. He turned from the mirror and left his hold, and headed for Sesshomaru's castle. He did not go with great speed, since the new wonders of his powers were still reaching out at him. He could actually "see" everything around him within a certain distance, even what was behind him, like optical sensors placed on his head. As he went, he passed through an area where a forest fire had recently burnt the area to smoldering ash and skeletons of trees. But within Galahad's eyes, he could see little flecks of light emanating from the ground. He could feel the tiny life forces pulse out in a clangor of different rhythms, each of different tone and beat. Within his mind, he reached out to the life forces and called them to come forth. As he did so, small flowers and trees suddenly burst forth from the ground, and now the charred area he stood in now had a jumpstart back into its normal state. Satisfied with the results of his little test, Galahad charged his equilibrium and approached Sesshomaru's castle. Within a matter of seconds, the massive fortress suddenly ripped into view, trails of light still coming off of it as Galahad slowed. As he neared it, he was nearly blown away at the amount of life force that emanated from it. True it was not human, but now Galahad could tell the life forces of sentient creatures were much larger than the life forces of other things. He put all of his effort into turning off the auras so he could see properly, and the blinding gray light disappeared. Feeling emptier now, Galahad strode up to the massive wooden doors and rapped on them three times. An inu-youkai up in a gatehouse looked down at Galahad. The guard looked back inside and said something, and looked back out at Galahad one more time before disappearing back into the window. With a low groan, the massive wooden gates slid back and open, revealing a road constructed out of stones stretched in front of him, with buildings up to two stories tall sitting to either side of the road. Most the youkai soldiers within sight looked over at Galahad, perplexed and confused looks greeting Galahad's stoic face. Ignoring the faint conversation directed toward him, Galahad walked forward, a path opening before him. He was about halfway across the inside of the fortress when a youkai escort came out and stopped him.

"You there, are you the one called Galahad?" The apparent lead soldier asked.

"Yes, and I have business with Lord Sesshomaru." replied Galahad.

"Come with us then. The great Lord Sesshomaru has been expecting you."

"Excellent." Was all Galahad said as he was led into the inner sanctum of the fortress. The inside of the main mansion of the castle was somewhat like that of the daimyo's mansion Galahad had seen with InuYasha and his friends that one time, but much more elegant and elaborate. He could sense the presence of the little girl he had met a few days earlier nearby as the escort led him to a large pair of sliding doors.

"My lord, Galahad is here." the lead of his escort than said toward the doors.

"Very well then. Leave us." Sesshomaru said on the other side. The escorts then turned and marched off in the opposite direction. Galahad opened the door and walked in. Sesshomaru was seated on a cushion on the floor at the far end of a large rectangular table. Around him, his generals sat, also on similar cushions. One of the generals raised an eyebrow at him as he entered.

"He is rather short to be a great warrior isn't he?" He said. Galahad took his sheathed Omnimus off of his back and laid it on the table. A minute look of shock then came to all the generals' faces when the sword then pulsed a flash of light from the hilt.

"I had thought you to be dead. This confirms that you are indeed powerful as I suspected." Sesshomaru started.

"If you're referring to the blast sometime ago, that was more luck than toughness. I was barely out in time to survive." Galahad replied.

"My men have started having run ins with patrols of this dark one's soldiers. I have been busy lately going out and purifying the remains after such skirmishes."

"Yes, Romulus' sorcery skills have improved, last I seen him. I now think he has the ability to bring in oni of a much higher grade of toughness and strength. I am positive he is building an army that could easily overwhelm all the human opposition. I request that you raise your army forth to assist me in combating these hordes. I will see to it that there is more to support us, but you and your forces must be the backbone."

"And what kind of support do you have in mind?"

"Myself, and my abilities, for one. On top of that, efforts are being made to gather together all the known taijiya and the wolf tribes of the northern realm. I shall use your younger brother in this endeavor as well, but I will teach him to heel when told." At the mention of the wolf tribes, some of the generals started to growl a little. One with an eye patch and several scars then looked over to Sesshomaru.

"This is preposterous, the thought of our great army working together with the wolves!" he said. Galahad shot at him a gaze that could melt steel.

"Then who else would you have fight? I tell you now that alone, your army stands no chance. Romulus will soon have powers that could rival mine, and he would be an absolute abomination against nature and life itself when he does. If he manages to accomplish this, he will be utterly immune to anything you could muster against him. So _I_ must take him down, but again, he will have an army and I am but just one man." Galahad then said in an ethereal tone of command. The general looked at him briefly and kept quiet.

"I will accept this, but I have conditions that must be met." Sesshomaru then said. He got up and walked over to Galahad, drawing the Tenseiga. Galahad immediately saw the blue aura surrounding the weapon. Sesshomaru continued. "When we finally meet Romulus' forces in battle, we will no doubt suffer many casualties. This sword is called Tenseiga. If you remember when we first met, I attempted to raise a corpse back to life with it. That's what this sword is meant for, raising the dead back to life, so it will be invaluable in the battle. Unfortunately, I have only one arm as you can see, limiting me to using only one of my two swords at a time. But I know of a way to recover my other arm, and it will require your assistance."

"Speak and it shall be done."

"We must find my younger brother. He has a black pearl in one of his eyes that I'll need. All I ask you to do is hold him down for me so I can retrieve it."

"Very well then, it shall be done."

-

"Grab a hold Miroku, and help me pull. This door is closed very tightly." Sango said after she had moved a table and a rug out of the middle of the main room of her parents' old house in the taijiya village, revealing a trap door. Sango picked up the end of the chain on the door and handed it to Miroku as she grasped the rest of the length of it.

They had all arrived at the old taijiya village shortly after noon after leaving at daybreak. InuYasha was still sore some, but not that much. He, Kagome, and Shippo were at the moment in Midoriko's cave loading youkai parts onto a cart. On the way to the village, InuYasha had informed Sango that after gathering up the parts, they were then going to set out for Totosai's and stop at any of the other taijiya villages that were along the route.

True to her word, Ayame had taken off for the northern mountains and the northern wolf youkai tribes at dusk the previous day with Kouga, Ginta and Hakkaku following her. She had left her sword with InuYasha so he could let Totosai examine it and rework it if he could, and it was now on InuYasha's hip belt beside the Tetsusaiga. Before they had left, Ayame and Kagome had agreed on a place the wolf tribes would wait to meet them, an open field a little ways outside of Kaede's village.

Meanwhile, Miroku and Sango were getting ready to open the trap door.

"On three, Sango. One…two…three!" Miroku said, and both him and Sango then yanked hard on the chain and the trap door flew open. Underneath was a set of steps leading down into a chamber. Miroku lit a small candle to use for light and followed Sango down the steps into the small room. In the back of it was a chest. Sango walked up to the chest and opened it. Inside was a neat stack of written papers and another stack of neatly folded maps. She picked up one of the maps and also one of the papers and looked at them both, then smiled.

"Excellent. Everything's here and in good shape. Father hadn't been down here for sometime when the village was attacked, and thankfully neither the youkai nor Naraku discovered this room." she said. Miroku walked up beside her and looked at the map she was looking at.

"Your father must have had the maps professionally made, they're very detailed." he said.

"They had to be so we could find and get to the other taijiya villages in a hurry if we needed help of any kind. Come on Miroku, let's see how the others are doing." Sango then said as she gathered up all the papers and maps together and put them in a leather bound case that was also in the chest. Her and Miroku then proceeded to head back up the stairs, closing the trap door back once they were out of the mini-cellar. They left the house and headed over to the cave, passing through the barrier into it. When they entered the chamber where Midoriko's petrified body and that of the combined youkai were, they saw the others grabbing and tossing youkai bones into the cart.

"Sango, look in the cart and tell us which bones and fangs are the strong and good ones, and which ones aren't, so we can leave the crappy stuff." InuYasha said as he dumped another armload of bones into the cart. Kagome and Shippo were about to dump their own armloads when Sango stopped them, and looked closely at what was already in the cart and started rummaging and pulling some of the bones and fangs out.

"Don't take any of these and these." Sango said as she held up the offending bones she was referring to show everybody what they looked like. They nodded and Sango then tossed them aside and continued rummaging through the cart and tossing out any more of the same bones she found.

A few minutes later, the cart was as full they could safely get it, and InuYasha picked up the yoke handles on it and started to pull it out of the cave, grunting a little from the effort.

"InuYasha, is that too much for you? We don't have to get everything all at once. We can leave some of it and come back later." Kagome said.

"Uh, uh. I'd like to make as few trips back and forth between here and Totosai's as possible. Sango, I got a question." InuYasha said as they exited the cave and InuYasha stopped to rest a moment.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Are we gonna have problems with youkai being attracted to all these bones and coming to attack us? I don't wanna have to be stopping every few minutes to fight off droves of them." That stopped Sango for a moment.

"Yeah, you're right. I forgot about that. Hold on a moment." Sango said as she then went over to the building that housed her father's workshop and returned with a pouch full of powder. She then started sprinkling the powder over the cart. Miroku then spoke up.

"Sango, I could also put some sutras and wards on the cart. Would that do the trick too?" he asked.

"Yes, that would actually work better than this warding powder I'm using." she replied as she continued to sprinkle it. Miroku then got out his bundle of sutras and sifted through them, selecting a few. He then put them on the cart at various points.

"There, that should do it. Okay, InuYasha try and see if you can pull it. It's gonna burn a little when you pick up the pull handles." Miroku stated. InuYasha picked up the yoke handles for the cart and his face contorted a little as a slight burning sensation hit his hands.

"Yeah Miroku, you were right. But don't worry, I can deal with it." He said as he started to pull. "Okay, Sango. Lead the way." They then left the village.

They hadn't gone far when Galahad emerged from the nearby forest and started toward them. All of them raised an eyebrow at him when they saw how he looked different.

"Galahad? What happened to you?" Kagome then asked, noticing his longer hair.

"A gift of the greater powers. InuYasha, I need you for a second." Galahad said.

"Why?" InuYasha asked as he put down the cart handles, and walked over to Galahad. Galahad then made his move. He suddenly wrapped his arms around InuYasha in a full nelson body hold. "What the hell!" InuYasha said in complete shock. He then started struggling to get free, without any success. Galahad charged some of his newfound power into his hands, and InuYasha was hit with an intense pain that left his youkai side crying out in immense agony. "AAAHHHH!" InuYasha moaned in pain.

"Galahad! What are you doing!" Kagome then asked frantically as she ran up. It was then that Sesshomaru and Jaken stepped out of the forest and began to walk towards them.

"I advise you to stop resisting InuYasha, or the pain will only worsen. You may not like this, but I have reasons for it. Kagome, step back." Galahad said, keeping InuYasha in a vise-like grip that now rendered him completely immobile.

"What's going on? Why is Sesshomaru here?" Shippo asked as everybody now watched with pole-axed faces. Tears had started to well up in Kagome's eyes. Sesshomaru calmly walked up to where Galahad was holding InuYasha perfectly still. InuYasha tried to say something, but Galahad had him almost completely paralyzed at the moment. The only thing he could do was breathe. Sesshomaru then reached forward with his hand toward InuYasha's right eye, and InuYasha's pain increased substantially as Sesshomaru began to magically pull the black pearl out of the eye, and InuYasha began to howl in pain again. Sparks flew from Sesshomaru's hand as the black pearl slowly emerged from the eye and floated into his hand.

"It is finished. Release him." Sesshomaru said. Galahad relaxed his grip and InuYasha collapsed to the ground, his hands flying up to his right eye as he did. "Jaken?" Sesshomaru commanded as he dropped the pearl on the ground.

"Yes milord." the little imp said, handing the Staff of Two Heads to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru touched the tip of the staff to the pearl. A brief flash of light, and the portal to the Inu no Taisho's grave was open once again, and Sesshomaru leapt into it, Jaken following him. The portal then disappeared. InuYasha looked up.

"Galahad, have you gone traitor on us? What the hell are you doing aiding Sesshomaru!" InuYasha asked angrily while still on the ground with a hand over his now throbbing eye.

"I have my reasons. Besides, it will aid us all in the long run." Galahad said, looking at the air where the portal once stood. Kagome had walked over to InuYasha and pulled a cold pack out of her backpack, gaving it to him to put over his sore eye.

"What confuses me is why the hell Sesshomaru wanted to go back to oyaji's grave. The Tetsusaiga's not there anymore, so what the hell does he want?" InuYasha then thought out loud. It was then that the portal opened back up, and Sesshomaru and Jaken re-emerged from it. InuYasha removed the cold pack from his eye briefly as the pearl reformed and returned to it. "Sesshomaru? What the hell's going on?" he then asked.

"Galahad has helped me regain what you took from me, little brother." Sesshomaru replied as he then held up his now reattached left arm to show them. Everybody else's eyes except Galahad's then bugged out, especially InuYasha's. They were utterly speechless.

"Will you now support me, or is there something else I must do?" Galahad asked Sesshomaru.

"No. This is it. All I wait for now is your word on where and when we will assemble for battle. Come Jaken." Sesshomaru said as him and Jaken then walked back off into the woods back towards his fortress. As he left, the others were now looking at Galahad in confusion. InuYasha had walked back over to the cart and was picking up the handles to pull it again.

"Galahad, what exactly just happened?" Kagome said curiously as they started following Sango again.

"I helped Sesshomaru retrieve his left arm so he could wield both of his weapons in the coming battle." he replied.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying he's decided to actually try using his other sword, Tenseiga? This is a joke right?" InuYasha said with a smirk.

"No. Actually that sword has a real good use against the oni. Used against them, it has an affect similar to one of my weapons." Galahad said, reaching back and tapping the hilt of Omnimus. Looking back behind at him, Sango was the first to notice the new sword, and also that he looked even harder than before, seeming to see things without seeing them.

"Galahad, that sword on your back, it's new." she said. Galahad gestured back to Omnimus.

"This? This is Omnimus. A gift from the heavenly beyond." he replied.

"Omnimus? A strange word. A word of your native tongue?" Miroku said, stumbling over the name as he said it. Galahad nodded.

"One thing's for sure. It must be powerful. I can see it pulsating." Kagome commented. InuYasha then looked over also at the sword, and an uneasy feeling came over him as he looked at the scabbard and hilt.

"Ugh. I'm getting the shivers just from looking at it." InuYasha then said as he continued to pull the cart.

Suddenly, a gust of wind then hit them all. Galahad's head snapped towards the sky as the huge white feather flew over their heads to a point several yards ahead of them and Kagura and Kohaku jumped off and landed on the ground. Galahad unsheathed both blades and started whirling them around him, almost casually striding toward them. Omnimus was humming rather loudly as he whirled it around him. Kagome now had to start squinting her eyes from the brightness of the aura emanating from Omnimus.

"WAIT! Don't Galahad! The boy is my brother, Kohaku! Don't hurt him!" Sango pleaded. Galahad just continued to stalk toward them, seeming to ignore her.

"Sheathe your weapons. We did not come to fight. You certainly don't know how to greet a lady, don't you?" Kagura said, eyeing Galahad and backing away slowly.

"A lady like you? I would rather see you dead, but I'm not here for you." Galahad said, then shooting like a lightning bolt towards Kohaku. Kohaku's instinctive reactions kicked in and he threw his kusari-gama's blade towards Galahad, aiming perfectly for his forehead. Galahad resheathed both blades in a flash and leaned slightly, the sickle-blade flying over his shoulder. In the same motion he reached up, grabbed the weapon's chain, and yanked. Kohaku was pulled off his feet before he even knew what was happening, his forehead meeting Galahad's armored elbow. He collapsed unconscious into Galahad's arms, who picked him up and leapt a good ways away from Kagura. Sango had started running towards him. Meanwhile, a look of utter surprise and shock had crossed Kagura's face.

"Galahad! He's got a jewel shard in his back! Don't-" Sango was in the middle of shouting, but was too late. Galahad, in one fluid motion, had pulled the tiny pink crystal from the middle of Kohaku's shoulder.


	15. Chapter 15

Futuristic Warrior from the Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

_Sensei- Japanese term for 'teacher'._

Chapter XV

All of the color within Galahad's vision drained away, and he could now see the entirety of Kohaku's soul as it tried to float away. Galahad summoned all of his might and seized it. Suddenly his right hand felt as if it was holding onto a red hot piece of steel, bare handed. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain, Galahad latched onto it with both hands and started wrenching it toward the lifeless body on the ground. It was like dragging a massive boulder by a chain, giving very little now no matter how much force he put into it. The boy's soul was fluctuating in his hands, resisting his attempts to return it to its body. _'I don't care if you don't want to live, I need you _**here**_' _Galahad thought as he continued to drag the writhing soul through the air.

Sango, meanwhile, lost all sense of sanity when she saw Galahad pull out the jewel shard. At that moment, she didn't care if Galahad was an ally or not. Her mind entered a one track mode that only wished to see one thing: Galahad's death. Her speed seemed to increase as she now screamed like a banshee, yanked her Hiraikotsu off her back and ran at Galahad like a crazed amazon. She reared back with the boomerang and made to split him in half with it as she ran. When she finally attempted her blow, it was blocked by a barrier that suddenly appeared around Galahad and Kohaku, and she was flung backwards.

"Sango! Stop it! It's not worth it! You'll never be able to forgive yourself!" Miroku tried to plead, shouting. But she seemed to have not even heard him as she got back up to try and run at Galahad again. _'Forgive me Sango.'_ Miroku thought as he bolted toward her. Holding his staff on opposite ends, he hooked it around her and started to try and drag her away. Sango started thrashing violently, trying to break free, and Miroku was forced to head butt her in the back of the head, knocking them both out.

Kagome, in a rare display of agility, had ran and dove for the jewel shard like a football player diving to recover a fumble. InuYasha had ripped Tetsusaiga out of its sheath and skillfully dashed toward Kagura to keep her from intercepting and possibly beheading Kagome.

Kagura at first couldn't have believed her luck in seeing Galahad rip out the jewel shard. _'He's saved Naraku the trouble of killing him, now that jewel shard is MINE!' _she had thought. But then the dreaded hanyou had blocked her path and now her and InuYasha at the moment were playing a deadly game of baseball, the blades from her fan serving as the baseballs.

'_Almost there. Then I will have a powerful ally. That is, IF I can train him in time.'_ Galahad thought. He had about half of Kohaku's soul back in his body, but Galahad's body was about to give out. With a shout of defiance, Galahad pulled back with one arm and pounded the soul into the inactive body. Suddenly the glow of life returned to the limp body of Kohaku, and Galahad keeled over onto his back, panting and sweating. His hands throbbed immensely, and his arms ached all over. But then reality rippled back to Galahad, and he sprung to his feet, whipping out Omnimus. InuYasha and this strange woman he had never met were sparring, the woman throwing blades made out of air. He could sense her hatred and anger, backed by fear and anguish. He felt no pity for her, and went into action. He charged his equilibrium and shot at her, whipping around her defenses and in a few lightning speed slices, he severed the fan she held into multiple pieces.

A look of horror and shock came to Kagura's face as her fan seemingly just came apart in her hands for no reason. InuYasha stopped and a look of confusion crossed his face as Kagura started to back away slowly, looking at Galahad as he appeared as if out of thin air. Then a realization hit Kagura.

'_This man! He looks different! He must one of those powerful foreigners Naraku had spoken of! Now's my chance!'_ Kagura then slowly sat on the ground. "You may drop your weapon. I'm through attacking. I know when I've been defeated." she said.

"Keh! Pretty helpless without your fan aren't ya Kagura?" InuYasha smirked.

"It seems to me that you weren't doing much against her yourself." Galahad said as he looked back at InuYasha. That wiped the smirk right off of InuYasha's face as Galahad sheathed Omnimus and then started to take several deep breaths. He now looked as if he had not slept in days and had just finished running a marathon.

Kagome, having reclaimed the jewel shard, was now clutching Kohaku. Shippo had joined her and was helping her shake him.

"Kohaku! Say something! Wake up!" Kagome pleaded. Shippo first heard it.

"Kagome, hold on a second! Stop shaking him! I think I hear something!" Shippo said. Kagome complied and laid Kohaku back down. The kitsune then jumped onto Kohaku's stomach and put his ear to Kohaku's chest, and his face then took on a look of joy. "His heart's beating! He's breathing! Kagome, he's alive!" Shippo shouted. Kagome started to shed tears of joy as Shippo jumped off of him and Kagome picked Kohaku back up and began to hug him, but he was still unconscious. Now it was Kagura and InuYasha's turns to be stupefied.

"You revived him? How? That should've been impossible! The jewel shard was the only thing keeping him going. He was practically undead!" Kagura said in shock.

"True, but I realigned his life force. He should be fine. Now that you have surrendered, what do you want?" Galahad asked Kagura.

"No doubt you've heard about Naraku from this bunch. I am a detachment and servant of his, but 'slave' is a more befitting term. For sometime now I have been attempting to flee and escape from his control, but he holds my heart in his hands and can kill me at any time, no matter where I may be, so I have no choice but to serve him. I simply want you to kill Naraku for me, though I'm not sure if jewel shards would make an acceptable payment for your services." the kaze youkai replied. Galahad then sighed.

"In all honesty, I do not care. Naraku right now has the importance of an insect to me. And I do not think I will really be here when this Naraku does become a problem again. So my answer is no." he replied. Galahad now walked over and sat down with the rest of the group. Kagura closed her eyes and dipped her head toward the ground, seething inside.

"I see. I will not trouble you all any longer then, since I have been disarmed." Kagura said coldly, pulling a feather out of her hair and transforming it. She then flew off. After she left, InuYasha looked over at Galahad.

"Hey, what did you mean by that statement, 'I do not think I will really be here when this Naraku does become a problem again'?" he asked.

"Well, I'm notone-hundred percentsure if I'll be living after Romulus dies. I guarantee you that I will kill Romulus, but he may take me down with him." was the reply. Galahad then laid down on the ground with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. There were big black circles of exhaustion around them. It was around that time that Miroku started to come to.

"Owww. My head. At least Sango is still out. I don't think she really needs to be coming around yet." he said. He then noticed that Kagome was smiling at him. "Kagome, what is it?"

"Galahad just performed a miracle for us. He brought Kohaku back to life somehow. He's unconscious, but alive, WITHOUT the jewel shard in his back." she said as she held up the shard for him to see. Miroku's eyes bugged out briefly, then returned to normal. He then got up and walked over to where Galahad was resting.

"You know that Sango attempted to kill you after she saw you pull out the shard, right?" Miroku asked down at him.

"No, I couldn't perceive anything around me. I was essentially blind, and focused only on the task at hand." Galahad said, still resting.

"Well, we're going to have come up with something for when she does start to come around. I'm certain that as soon as she sees you, she's going to go after you again. She's probably convinced Kohaku is gone forever." Miroku said grimly. Galahad opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Do you honestly believe that she can hurt me?" he said matter-of-factly, pulling himself to his feet and walking over to where Kohaku was laying.

"No, but I'm not sure how to convince her that Kohaku's not dead until he actually comes around and she sees him. And I don't think he'll be coming around until after she does." Miroku said.

"Then you are mistaken." Galahad said. Kohaku's eyes then started to flutter open and he started to get up, but he was promptly pulled to his feet by Galahad. "For an average mortal, you resist revival extremely well. But maybe that's because you aren't an average mortal."

"What?" he said groggily, he then looked over and saw Sango. "Sister!" he shouted and ran over to her. He started to hug her. Now Sango started to come around at that.

"Wha-what happened?" she said as she then opened eyes, and gasped. "Kohaku? Kohaku!" she said as both brother and sister embraced. "Kohaku, I thought you were dead for sure! Somebody pinch me and tell me this isn't a dream!" Sango said tearily.

"I don't know how I'm alive either, but I am." Kohaku replied.

"Sango, there's more good news too." Shippo said as he and Kagome walked over.

"What?"

"He's alive, yet look where the jewel shard that was keeping him alive is." Kagome said as she then showed the shard to Sango.

"You're…you're truly free of Naraku's control then?" Sango asked Kohaku.

"Well of course he is. I had to sever that bond. Only then would he be able to fully control himself." Galahad stated.

"Galahad, whatever you did, thanks. I have my brother back." Sango said with tears of joy.

"Not exactly." Galahad said as he crossed his arms.

"What do you mean by that?" Sango asked as confusion crossed her face.

"The only reason why I even did what I did is because he has an unusually rare gift within him. And I mean to see to it that he exploits it to the fullest."

"Galahad-sama, what do you mean by that?" Kohaku asked up at Galahad.

"Kohaku, you have a certain spark within you that is what my people call 'The Void'. It allows you perceive everything around you to a greater degree. I will let you stay with your sister until we have met this swordsmith known as Totosai and have struck an agreement with him. After that, you are to come with me."

"Galahad, what do you intend to do with him?" Sango asked.

"I intend to make him much greater then he already is. To put it simply, some of my feats and abilities are within his reach. I'm going to make Kohaku into the greatest soldier in the land. He won't reach my level, that is physically impossible for him, but when I am done with him, he will be able to surpass anybody in this group, including you, Sango." Sango's, and everybody else's eyes for that matter, then opened wide in disbelief.

-

If it was not for the fact that the Heresy Lord had accumulated too much power for Romulus' liking, Romulus would be grinning right now. His dream of conquering the world would be within reach once he completed the ritual he was preparing for. The Summoning Circle no longer existed. There was still a glowing pentagram on the floor, but a hole had been knocked into the far wall. And there Romulus had opened a Hellgate, a direct, two-way entrance into Hell. It had taken him some time and effort to erect the evil spewing device, but it had been worth it. His army was now twice as powerful, and there were several Greater Demons within the walls of his fortress.

As for the fortress itself, it no longer resembled its former self. Large towers had seemingly sprung up from the interior grounds, each topped with the rotting trophies of his minions. Cries of the undead echoed throughout the place, and storms constantly racked the area, red lightning incinerating everything within a few miles around the fortress. There was no mortal life nearby it, the harsh conditions would kill them instantly if a storm arose.

Romulus stood at the edge of the glowing pentagram, looking at the moaning and whispering Hellgate. It was as if a hole into a red misted black void had been put in that wall. Romulus ignored the voices that called out to him. He knew what they said, and it did not apply to him. His corrupted soul cube was in his hand, his blood red gem in the other. The sound of clicking hooves brought Romulus around. Two Baron-of-Hell-resembling Belphegors were walking down the stairs, each holding a bone urn filled to the brim with blood. The urns glowed a distinct light blue, and the two Belphegors' hands sizzled from the touch, but if it hurt them, they did not show it. One of the red skinned demons held the urn out to Romulus. Romulus turned the Soul Cube over in his hands, and popped the back open, revealing a round hole. He placed the gem in the hole, and closed the back. Instantly the soul cube became warmer, and its eyes now emanated yellow light. He held out the soul cube and dropped it into the urn. The room was filled with the sound of a whirlwind, howling and whipping about, then it suddenly died out. Romulus reached into the now completely dry urn and pulled out the soul cube. It pulsed slightly in his hands, like it had a strong heartbeat. Romulus then dropped it into the second urn. This time thunder rolled outside the fortress, and lightning suddenly blew a crater in one of the towers. Romulus paid no heed to what happened, and pulled the soul cube out of the second urn. It was warmer, and its pulse was stronger.

"Good. You two may return to your posts." Romulus said. The two Belphegors turned and left without a sound. Romulus turned and looked at the Hellgate again. _'Two down, three to go. And then I will be ready, and the earth will split and crack under my tread.' _Romulus thought, a grin of evil coming to his face. He stalked from the room, plotting the demise of the rival Heresy Lord.

-

Sango sighed again as she continued to polish her Hiraikotsu, Kohaku's kusari-gama now on her belt. It was several days later. Shortly after they had started out again after Kohaku had come to, Galahad had ordered Kohaku to give his kusari-gama to his sister, saying he would no longer need it. He had then given Kohaku his gladius. That had irked Sango a little, but she decided not to question Galahad. At the moment however, something else was bothering her. _Won't he stop growling for even a minute? It's driving me nuts._ she thought as she turned the Hiraikotsu over to work on the other side of it.

The growling that was getting on her nerves was coming from InuYasha. He was sitting in his signature dog-like crouch several feet away, watching Galahad train Kagome in how to use her wakizashi, and it was getting to him. What he was watching was making him feel like an unskilled newbie!

What was going on was that Kagome was swinging and thrusting her wakizashi at Galahad. He was not in his armor now. He was wearing his signature shorts and now an A-frame shirt. A dagger clutched in two of his fingers was all that Galahad was using to easily block and fend off each of Kagome's attacks. She had learned his sword lessons quickly, much to everybody's surprise. Meanwhile, Kohaku, Miroku and Shippo were sitting off to the side beside InuYasha.

"Quit growling InuYasha. Your distracting me. I'm trying to watch Galahad-sensei closely." Kohaku said, awed a little at Galahad's nimbleness with the dagger.

"Galahad is indeed skilled in all forms of combat. Up until now I thought only elite ninja were capable of feats like that." Miroku said, rubbing his chin.

"Kagome sure looks like she's learned a lot. Maybe now she can help out even more in battles." said Shippo.

"Good, good. Now you're getting the hang of using it as it was meant to be used. Kohaku, you see how I'm being able to parry her with just one arm and a knife?" Galahad said, turning his head toward Kohaku while still easily parrying Kagome's attacks.

"Yes sensei. I do." he replied.

"You have the ability to do this, and more. Now Kagome, what do you do when you are rushed, like so?" Galahad said, sheathing the knife and sprinting forward in one quick motion. He picked up Kagome with both arms, and she dropped her weapon out of shock. InuYasha had then tensed up and put a hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt on instinct at the sight of it. Galahad shook his head. "No. Dropping your weapon is not the right answer. If this had been real, you'd now be dead. Notice how I'm holding you off the ground with both arms, rendering me unable to defend myself. Had you not dropped your weapon, you could've easily made to try and behead me." He put her down. "Let's try it again. Attack, and then when I rush, don't drop your weapon, whatever you do. **Do not** hesitate to attack when I leave myself wide open, for hesitation will get you killed in a heartbeat during a real fight like this." Kagome retrieved her sword and resumed to attack him, and this time when Galahad rushed her and picked her up, she swung her wakizashi toward Galahad's head. He let go of her, ducked, and then caught her before she fell to the ground. "Much better." InuYasha had now had enough. He couldn't hold his tongue anymore.

"Why aren't you letting me train her?" InuYasha finally asked.

"Because every time I have seen you in combat, you've shown your incompetence and lack of skills as a soldier. That is why. And besides, you have no skill with a blade at all. You rely too heavily on your special attacks." Galahad replied.

"Then why not train me? I could have killed that damn Lithegor without fully unleashing my youkai blood if I had some better skills with the Tetsusaiga." InuYasha said. Everybody looked at InuYasha in surprise of his words. After they had started off yesterday, InuYasha had personally told Galahad about his battle with the Lithegor and what he had had to do to defeat it, and also about how the Tetsusaiga keeps his youkai blood sealed.

"Very well. Kohaku, fetch me Omnimus." Kohaku picked up the sheathed sword beside him, pulled it out and tossed it to Galahad, who caught it, whirled it around some to stretch his arms, and took a stance. All of the others, including Sango, were now watching with keen interest. "Now, come at me, InuYasha." InuYasha removed Ayame's sheathed sword from his belt for the moment and laid it on the ground, then unsheathed Tetsusaiga and leapt at Galahad with it raised up like he always did with it. Galahad just simply took two steps forward and when InuYasha was at arms' length away, WHOOMPH. He delivered a good punch to InuYasha's gut, sending him staggering back and wheezing. "**That,** is one of the worst mistakes you can make with that kind of weapon. If you are going to use a big, long blade like that, do **this **instead." Galahad then started to swing Omnimus around him in a complete 360 degree circle, passing the blade between his hands. He now seemed to dance with deadly grace as he stepped forward, increasing the blade's speed. "Once you get the blade going, do not stop it. Press forward with an unrelenting attack." Galahad continued to advance towards InuYasha. InuYasha raised the Tetsusaiga to try and defend, but the sword only got knocked out of his hands and was sent pin-wheeling in the air, landing a few feet from them and transforming. Galahad then immediately stopped whirling Omnimus, just inches from it cutting into InuYasha's haori. "Now, retrieve your weapon, and try it yourself." InuYasha nodded, retrieved Tetsusaiga, and started to try and whirl it the same way Galahad had whirled Omnimus, but immediately was having trouble with passing it between his hands.

"Damn. I'm going to have to go off and practice this." He said, then sheathing Tetsusaiga and reattaching Ayame's sword to his hip belt.

"When you've perfected that, I'll teach you the next part of it." Galahad said as he walked over and picked up Omnimus' sheath and sheathed the sword. InuYasha walked over to the cart.

"Well, are we ready to get started off again? We should be at Totosai's by nightfall." he said as he picked up the handles for it.

"Yes, I guess so." Sango replied. They all continued on their trek. Miroku walked up along side InuYasha.

"InuYasha, it's not like you to ask for training like you did. What's going on?" he asked. Kagome walked up and joined them too.

"The reason I asked for the training was the same reason I went to see Totosai about lightening up Tetsusaiga, when I killed Ryuukotsusei." he replied.

"I see. You don't want to ever have to transform again?"

"That's right. This last transformation while fighting the Lithegor felt a lot like it did when I killed Goshinki. I was able to have some control over it, but barely. That purely was a desperation move on my part, resorting to that. I don't want to be in that kind of situation again, **ever**."

"You could have easily gone after any of us." Kagome added in.

"The only reason why I didn't was because that oni had my full attention. My blood wanted it dead before anything else." InuYasha said to her.

Dusk approached later that day, and Totosai's hut started to come into their view. Galahad did not see much life force in this area. It was very volcanic and barren, but he did not feel any satanic presence whatsoever. InuYasha parked the cart close by and approached the entrance.

"Totosai? You busy?" he said as he entered. He saw the old swordsmith lying on a stone slab in the back of his hut, seemingly dozing. He sat up and yawned.

"Oh InuYasha. Back so soon? I'm surprised." he said.

"Come outside. I got some gifts for ya."

"Gifts? What kind of gifts?"

"Come outside and you'll see." Totosai shrugged and followed him out, and his jaw dropped to the ground when he saw the cart. He then ran up to the cart and looked at it. "Oh! Look at these!" he said in a surprised voice as he looked over the bones and fangs in the cart. "High quality bones and fangs! These will be most useful! Wait a minute…" Totosai stopped as a realization hit him. "There was a reason you brought me these right?" he asked.

"Damn straight. You're going to turn all of these into weapons." InuYasha said.

"You sure brought me enough. Enough to equip an army."

"That's the point." Galahad said as he walked up. A confused look came to Totosai's face.

"Who's this strange looking human? He looks to be a fine warrior." he said, eyeing Galahad.

"Totosai, this is Galahad. The weapons are being made for him. He's the one building the army." InuYasha said. Totosai's face then took on a look of seriousness.

"What force is this army going to be fighting?" Totosai asked Galahad.

"Oni. Very, very powerful oni. A kind that have never been encountered before in these lands. The weapons you make will need to be capable of being wielded by both youkai and human alike. How many soldiers can the supplies in the cart equip? Also, are you capable of producing other weapons besides swords?" Totosai then started to rummage through the bones and fangs, looking at them.

"Hmm, these bones and fangs really are some of the highest grade I've ever seen. With my skills, I can equip probably close to 500, give or take a few. And yes, swords aren't just the only thing I can make. I can make halberds, battle axes, flails, maces, and other similar weapons. But I'll need more wood than I've got if I'm going to make those other weapons in the numbers you need."

"I'll handle that. Just tell me which forest to go to and I'll hack down a few trees with Tetsusaiga while perfecting my new whirling attack." InuYasha said. Totosai looked at him briefly with an unapproving look, and sighed.

"Hmph. Just make sure you cut 'em cleanly." he said.

"I'd like to see the tools you'll be using to forge these weapons." Galahad said. Totosai nodded and motioned for him and InuYasha to follow him into the hut. Totosai led them over to his work area. Galahad was confused upon not seeing a forge. "How can you claim to be a swordsmith when you possess no forge of any kind?" Galahad asked.

"Here, I'll show you." Totosai replied, then reaching over and yanking the Tetsusaiga out of it's sheath on InuYasha's hip.

"Hey!" InuYasha said in surprise. Totosai then held the Tetsusaiga up to his face and proceeded to breathe fire on the Tetsusaiga until the blade was glowing orange.

"That's how. I have no need for a forge. Really makes things easier not having to keep a fire stoked up." Totosai replied. He waited for Tetsusaiga to cool off before handing it back to InuYasha. Then a thought came to the hanyou. He pulled Ayame's sheathed sword from his hip.

"Here old man, take a look at this. This belongs to one of the leaders of the northern wolf tribes. She needs it re-worked and improved upon if you can manage it." InuYasha said as he handed to wolf-crafted weapon to Totosai. Totosai pulled the weapon to look at it, picked up his forging hammer and struck it once. He then frowned.

"Bah! This blade looks and sounds as if an amateur made it! Of course I can improve this. In fact, this weapon is in drastic _need_ of my attention. I'm surprised it hasn't broken already! InuYasha, to what wolf leader does this sword belong to?" Totosai asked as he sheathed Ayame's sword.

"Ayame." Totosai nodded at that. Galahad then pulled Omnimus. Totosai almost then had a heart attack when he first saw it!

"Wha-wha-where did that come from?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"From divine sources. What is your price for forging the weapons?" Galahad said, turning the sword in his hands. Totosai seemed to have not heard him.

"What is that sword made from? I can tell the metal is top quality! I'm not sure if I could ever find material like that!" he asked.

"It's not made out of any material currently in existence. So that is correct, you could never find materials to reproduce this. Now answer my question. What is your price for making these weapons?"

"I have only two requirements for my work. One, the customer supplies the materials. The only part of that that hasn't been fulfilled yet is my need for wood. Two, the contracted weapons must not be used to oppress the weak and kill the innocent wantonly. Can you assure me of that?" Totosai asked.

"Let me put it this way. Unless you _want_ to see all life wiped clean from this land within the next few months, you _will_ make these weapons." Galahad replied. Totosai's eyes opened wide at that.

"Okay. My fees have already been paid then. InuYasha, half a day's travel southwest of here is a forest. Fill up that cart of yours outside with wood from it, bring it back, and I'll tell you whether you have to make a return trip. In the meantime, dump all the bones and fangs over in that corner." Totosai pointed.

"One more thing." Galahad said.

"Yes?"

"How soon can you have these weapons ready?"

"Hmm. About two and a half-weeks, give or take a couple of days. Most of these weapons will take me about an hour to do. The big thing however is that InuYasha must bring me the wood I need for the handles ASAP." As Totosai was saying that, InuYasha had pulled the cart in and dumped the contents of it out in the corner Totosai had directed.

"You heard him then InuYasha. Get to that forest and practice your skills. MOVE IT!" Galahad commanded, pointing. InuYasha grimaced a little, but didn't say anything. He quickly pulled the cart back out, and then, he, Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and Kirara were hightailing it to the said forest after Sango and Kohaku had exchanged some quick goodbyes. Galahad and Kohaku then proceeded to Galahad's seminary to begin Kohaku's training for real.

-

Romulus stood on the top of the gatehouse to his fortress, which was now completely constructed out of bones, bleeding stones and other Satanic materials. Romulus was chanting a spell in the black speech, making gestures to the sky. The sky began to turn blackish red, and bright red lightning cracked suddenly. He continued to chant, and black rain began to fall from the sky, burning everything like it was battery acid, but it did no harm whatsoever to Romulus, who held out a small bone cup and collected some of the poisonous rain within it and left the gatehouse, and descended the wall. He strode across the courtyard, now sizzling from the rain, and entered into a door with an orange glowing carving of a serpent. As Romulus stepped inside, demons all around him saw what he was carrying and bowed before his presence.

The two Belphegors he used earlier walked up to him, one carrying another of those glowing bone urns full of blood. Romulus handed the cup to the free handed Belphegor, who took it without word. He proceeded down the stairs into the dungeon of the fortress, where his Hellgate and magicks were cast. The red pentagram was now carved deeper into the floor, and two imps opened two small dams, allowing molten magma to flow into the pentagram, lighting it up with a yellowish hue.

While Romulus was waiting for this, he pulled out his unholy soul cube, now throbbing like it was trying to scorch his hand, and dropped it into the fifth and final blood urn. The whole fortress suddenly shook as the soul cube sucked the blood out of the urn, and now great spans of land under Romulus' control suddenly set on fire, and a hidden volcano suddenly erupted and started to climb its way out of the earth. Romulus reached into the urn and pulled out the soul cube, which was now glowing completely, and it was radiating darkness by itself, and it was now fighting with Romulus, trying to possess his body for its own use.

'_For the greater glory to Satan, you will obey **ME**!' _Romulus shouted at it with his mind. The soul cube quieted some, but was still whispering into his head. He paid it no heed, and took the cup of acid rain from the other Belphegor, and strode out onto the heat and evil radiating pentagram. Romulus stood in the center, his feet placed just outside of the reach of the magma streams that flowed within, and drew his gladius. The black blade glistened in the dim light given off by the flowing magma beneath it. Romulus took the cup of acid rain and poured it down the length of the blade, and stuck the tip of the blade into the magma. A loud crackling noise was heard, and the blade began to draw black lightning from the magma in the pentagram. Now hurrying, Romulus took his soul cube and set it on the top of the gladius' hilt, the clawed feet fitting onto the pommel of the handle. Forcing his hands onto the blade wings so they would cut him slightly, Romulus set his feet into the magma, and the ritual was now complete.

The Hellgate began to crackle with lightning, and a column of total darkness spewed forth and enveloped Romulus, who began to scream. His body began to shake and convulse as black lightning shocked him again and again. Those screams then started to deepen, and deepen, until it became a dark and unholy roar. Romulus' body then started to grow, taking a height of at least ten feet. His armor stretched and replaced his flesh as his black skin. Horns protruded out of his black hair, curving out and up away from his face. His face lost all resemblance to a human, and was one similar to a baron of hell, just larger, with tusks pointing up and fangs pointing down. His eyes now seemed to sink into his head and smolder and give off fire. Two great leathery wings grew out of his back pointed and clawed. His hands became claw-like, and his feet had only three taloned toes each. And finally, a barbed tail grew from his spine.

At the sight of their master becoming a demon himself, all the oni in the room dropped to their knees and bowed to him, chanting praises both to Romulus and to Satan in the black speech. Romulus looked down to his sword, which had grown in length to accommodate for his massive size, and had several serrated sections on it. Romulus pulled the sword forth with a taloned hand and swung it once. The sword hummed with the swing, and left a trail of darkness behind it.

"/**Beware Galahad! Your days on this earth are limited! Pray to your puny god that you will be ready when I come for you!**/ "Romulus said with a deep growling voice. Now Romulus was truly ready to turn this puny world into a realm of Satan, but his army lacked. It was only a matter of time till he launched his assault.


	16. Chapter 16

Futuristic Warrior From The Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter XVI

Galahad slowly parried Kohaku's blows with gentle force, talking out a rhythm to him as he methodically attacked. Galahad then parried a blow and suddenly swung back at Kohaku, who leaped backwards, and jumped into the air, rearing back with the gladius. Galahad thrust upwards, but Kohaku spun in midair, dodging the blade and bringing his sword down at Galahad. Galahad grabbed Kohaku's hands and pushed him back with his sword arm.

"Good, you was able to judge my attack and respond quickly, but your attack would be suicide on an opponent like me. But that midair dodge was very good, that's not easy to do. Congratulations, you now are probably deadlier with that blade than most mortals. Before too long I will teach you the art of seizing the Void, and you will be able to react with unbelievable strength and speed. Now I want you to try to predict my swings, and parry my blows with only one arm controlling the sword. Expect anything, even punches and kicks, but I had better not see you use any of your taijiya tricks. They are inferior to my methods, I can read them too well. Ready?" Galahad said. Kohaku adjusted his grip on his gladius, took a defense stance and nodded.

Galahad started tossing Omnimus from one hand to the other, and steadied it in his left hand. He started with wide but quick slashes at Kohaku, who deflected them, but didn't try to halt them. Galahad then slipped a stab at Kohaku, who jumped to the side of it, and struggled to halt the sudden one handed overhead cleave Galahad flung at him. It pushed Kohaku back, and loosened the blade in his hand. Galahad seemingly could tell, and smacked Kohaku's hand with his free arm and knocked the blade out and into the air. Galahad took a step back and lowered his blade, and Kohaku picked up his gladius from the ground.

"Your parrying is better, you finally grasped the fact that deflecting an attack is better than stopping it, and you can do it well. But you need to watch your-" Galahad stopped in mid-sentence. He could sense a familiar feeling of malevolent evil, with the greatest feeling of cunning he had ever felt. He had felt this evil before, and instantly recognized it. He whipped around, gripping Omnimus in both hands, boosting his equilibrium.

A figure walked down from the wooded hill behind the two, and emerged into the clearing they had been training in. Long black hair hung from his head, resting atop sun darkened shoulders, matched with a Caucasian face that was handsome almost to the point that it was barely masculine. But the eyes of this face glowed a dark red, radiating malice. Two great, black, feathery wings enfolded the figure's muscular frame, covering it like overcoat.

"/Well well Galahad, I see you are apparently training a successor. You think you're going to die/" The figure said in the high speech, grinning a wicked grin that radiated assurance.

"/No, he is not my successor, and as for dying, I have never feared death. You should know this, **Satan**./" Galahad said, his voice tainted with anger. Satan laughed.

"/Ooh, I'm scared. A mere mortal not afraid of death. Either way, the Earth will be _mine_. I know about you raising up an army to try to stop Romulus, but you can't stop him. You might strike him down, but he had managed to bring greater demons to his call./" Satan said, confidence in his voice. He started grinning again

"/Greater demons or not, it will not stop me. I can defeat them with the Soul Cube. Besides, that's why this boy is with me. He will help me in my endeavors./" Galahad said.

"/Ah the Soul Cube, how I hate those divine devices. But even then that is not enough. Romulus has managed, with my personal assistance, to open a Hell Gate. No divine piece of technology can save you from _that_./" Satan said with a sneer. Galahad's eyes widened.

"/A_ Hell Gate_? You lie! You are the master of deceit! You lie/" Galahad said, pointing Omnimus at Satan. Satan stepped back from Omnimus, but laughed cruel laughter.

"/Deny it if you want, but it is there, and now Romulus' army numbers in the thousands. I think you are going to be removed from a game you have played for too long. Give it up. Join me, and I will set you above Romulus, as one of my angels, and you will help rule this meager Earth./" Satan said, extending his hand. Galahad was enraged to the point to where his eyes started to glow like small stars in his head.

"/NO! I will NOT join the great TRAITOR! I would rather die the most painful death imaginable than to serve YOU/" Galahad shouted, almost screaming with rage. Satan stopped grinning, but still had a smug look to his eyes.

"/Very well. But there is only one way to destroy a Hell Gate. Remember that, Galahad. I gave you a chance, but you spurned it. I will win, and you will suffer a most painful death for not serving me./" Satan said, who turned and started away, and slowly faded like mist and disappeared. Galahad was shaking with anger now.

"Sensei, who was that?" Kohaku said, his voice of fear and curiosity. Galahad had forgotten about him. He turned to see he had backed away considerably, and was a pale white with fear.

"That was the great enemy, standing above Romulus in evil. He was once called Lucifer, until he rebelled and was cast into Hell. Now he is called Satan, the most evil creature that exists in the universe." Galahad said, his voice cracking with anger.

"Sensei, what is wrong with you? You bleed from your eyes." Kohaku said, looking concerned. Galahad touched his face, and saw blood on his fingertips. The evil radiating from Satan was so strong, it was like antimatter to Galahad, and had made him bleed as an action to resist it. Taking a deep breath and reassuming the void, Galahad now knew what was to be done.

-

All of Sesshomaru's most senior and elder generals and advisors were sitting patiently in the meeting room, waiting for their lord to arrive. He had called this meeting at an unusual time and some of them, the oldest among them, were a little expectant.

Ever since Sesshomaru had returned several days earlier with his left arm reattached and fully usable, the whole castle had been buzzing about whether the son of the great Inu no Taisho would finally use his heirloom sword the Tenseiga for what it was truly meant for. Many of them had seen Sesshomaru use Tenseiga now to purify the oni they had been encountering lately, but none had yet to see him raise a person back to life with it. The oldest among them had seen with their own eyes Sesshomaru's father use the Fang of Life during and after battles to revive those soldiers whom he believed had earned a reprieve from death with their service, and until now they had begun to wonder a little if his son would ever learn how to use it in that fashion. Now they were hopeful that possibly, finally, with this battle, he would begin to show some of the traits that had made his father so well liked and respected.

The room's doors slid open and all the advisors and officers stood as Sesshomaru elegantly and coolly entered, Jaken closing the doors behind him and remaining outside in the hallway. The youkai lord strode up to his spot at the head of the table and sat, the other inu-youkai bowing and sitting after he did. They all noticed that their lord was looking thoughtfully down at the table.

"I have a question for you all that some of you may find difficult to answer truthfully, but I expect your honest answers nonetheless. I will not be offended, whatever you say." Sesshomaru paused, then continued. "What is all of yours opinion of my half-breed brother?" The eyes of all the other inu-youkai in the room went wide. Sesshomaru continued. "Let me make it clear first off that this meeting _will not_ devolve into a debate over my father's wisdom in siring him, that is not why I called this meeting. I only want your opinions of him." Sesshomaru finished. The oldest officer nodded his head, then started.

"He is brash, very ignorant, very disrespectful of authority and does not wield the great Tetsusaiga well at all. The only reason whyhe still breathes since being re-awoken from the miko's spell is because of the sheer might and strength of Tetsusaiga. He has been a poor keeper so far of what his father has entrusted to him, and I personally believe he is a disgrace to the youkai blood that runs through him. Since, milord, you have said we will not discuss your father's wisdom pertaining to him, I will keep any further opinion to myself, and so should everybody else. Do I speak for everybody?" he said. After a few moments, the other officers, even the more youthful ones, nodded their heads. The elder one then continued, "Why do you ask us this milord? This is of course a very sensitive subject to you and one that you would rather not speak of, so we all are surprised you would bring it up. What is this meeting really about?"

"What about the men? What do the men think about him? Do they share your opinion?" Sesshomaru now asked. After a few minutes of discussion, the general consent they reached was a 'yes.' Sesshomaru now dropped a bombshell on all of them. "Okay, the general consent is that the men do not like him. Well some of them better learn to like him soon because if Galahad is thinking what I think he may be, some of them may be placed under his command for this upcoming battle." With those words, everybody in the room except Sesshomaru felt they had just been run through with the mightiest of katana, and an uproar started. With one loud clap of his hands however, Sesshomaru quieted them.

"WHAT? Surely he can't be planning that! Milord, you must be mistaken!" The elder officer said in a flabbergasted voice.

"I believe he is planning that, and that I'm not mistaken. The only weapon that has any strength comparable to Tetsusaiga's is Toukijin, my normal weapon. Remember the Tetsusaiga is capable of slaughtering 100 youkai in a single sweep with it's _Kaze no Kizu_, and Galahad no doubt realizes that will be very useful in this battle." Sesshomaru said.

"But that power is in the hands of a glutton! You've said it yourself milord. Your brother uses the Tetsusaiga like it's a club! And _him_ leading a group of soldiers? Hah! Don't make me laugh! He himself can't take orders really from anybody, so don't tell me anything about his leadership abilities! I can tell you right now that thetroops under my command would rather be led by theyourouzoku into battle than take orders from him!" one of the younger officers said in a voice on the edge of rage, the others agreeing with him.

"But remember that Galahad said he would teach him to heel. After seeing how he restrained the half-breed so I could retrieve my arm, I believe him." Sesshomaru replied, then describing the incident of retrieving his arm to them all. "After seeing how easily he was able to do that, I'm convinced that Galahad can show InuYasha how to follow orders, as well as teach him in the proper use of Tetsusaiga as well. I myself will test him before the battle to see if Galahad has succeeded in transforming him into one truly worthy of wielding father's great fang."

"I still don't know about this milord. My doubts still remain." the eldest one said, rubbing his chin. The younger officer who had spoke earlier then spoke up again.

"Milord, do you have any idea of who among our soldiers may be tasked with having to serve under InuYasha's command during the battle? Just news of this is going to unsettle the troops some and we may have insubordination problems because of it." he said. Sesshomaru turned to him.

"I believe possibly that Galahad may choose to pair him with our physically strongest, hardest hitting close quarters men who fight similarly to how InuYasha fights in melee combat. Galahad is no doubt going to teach InuYasha the Tetsusaiga can be deadly effective in melee as well as with it's special attacks so he'll probably prefer to pair him up with those similar to him infighting style." he said. The younger officer and the others nodded. "So now, are you all clear in what you must do? Break this unfortunate news to the men, but also make it clear that half-breed or not, he_ is_ of royal blood and demands respect. If any of you have any serious cases of insubordination and possible mutiny arise, _I _will deal with it myself. The fate of this entire land is dependant upon this upcoming battle and it's too important to have cases of animosity and mutiny among the troops getting in the way of absolute victory. This meeting is adjourned." Sesshomaru finished firmly. His officers then nodded, bowed to him and filed out.

-

Ayame unsheathed her newly reforged sword, and her eyes went wide. The blade looked much, much better than it did before, and as she swung it around she discovered it had a better feel now to it too.

"Well Ayame, how is it? InuYasha's codger make it any better?" Kouga asked as he glanced back and forth between her and InuYasha, who had now distanced himself away far enough to resume whirling the Tetsusaiga around, what he had been doing before Kouga and his pack arrived with Ayame and a large yourouzoku army. They were all in a large clearing near Kaede's village, and a forest was at the edge of the clearing. Meanwhile, the high ranking officers of Ayame's army were looking through and issuing to their troops the newly finished weapons from Totosai that InuYasha's group had brought.

"Wow! I didn't think it was possible to improve upon it, but he did. It feels easier to swing." Ayame said. InuYasha stopped his whirling practice and walked up.

"You need to tell the guy who originally made it to pay Totosai a visit so he can get some schooling from him. Totosai said that thing looked like an amateur forged it." InuYasha said, now looking at Kouga. "You missed out on a damn good opportunity, wolf. I ain't taking your useless sword to him now to fix it." Kouga bared his teeth at him.

"I done told you once dog-shit, I don't NEED a real weapon when I've got jewel shards! Oh, and where did you learn that new spinning technique with your sword, huh?" Kouga said to him in an anger tinged voice. InuYasha growled at him.

"You know stupid wolf, maybe if I use this new technique on you, you'll change your mind!" InuYasha said.

"Osuwari!" Kagome shouted having heard that. WUMP! InuYasha grumbled as he got up, then froze when a familiar scent of bones and graveyard soil hit his senses. "What is it InuYasha?" Kagome asked as she walked up and saw him start to sniff.

"Kikyo's approaching. What does she want?" InuYasha asked out loud. Puzzled, Kouga and Ayame turned to see what he was looking at. It was then when, out of the forest, the familiar miko in question walked out from behind some bushes. All of their eyes widened however when row after row of archers accompanied by monks and other miko started exiting the forest as well. All of the yourouzoku soldiers were alarmed and got out their weapons to defend themselves, when Kikyo looked over at Kagome and motioned her to approach.

"Kikyo, where did you get all of these people?" Kagome asked as her and InuYasha approached.

"Travelling around. Is the silver-armored one here?" Kikyo asked.

"No, Galahad hasn't arrived yet. Kikyo, what's with all the monks and miko? I can see why the archers, but not the holy ones." InuYasha asked.

"The holy ones will be supplying purified arrows to the archers, most of them anyway. Some of the monks will be fighting alongside your monk companion. Kagome, you will be with me during the battle, understand?" Kagome nodded. Kikyo now noticed all the yourouzoku soldier eyes looking menacingly at her and her several platoons of archers, monks, and priestesses. "InuYasha, you'd best go and settle the fearful eyes of your allies. I told all these who are with me that they would probably be fighting alongside some youkai. Where is the female taijiya and her monk companion?"

"Miroku and Sango are off gathering together all the other taijiya bands. They'll be joining us, along with Sesshomaru's army, and any other youkai who I guess decide just want a piece of the action." said Kagome.

"I see." Kikyo then turned and walked over to some of the officers of the archers to talk with them, while Kagome went and rejoined InuYasha as he again talked with Kouga and Ayame about the new arrivals. It was then that Kirara, bearing Sango, Miroku, and Shippo emerged from beyond the treetops and landed beside InuYasha and Kagome.

"Sango, Miroku, Shippo, you're back. Are they coming?" Kagome asked as the monk and exterminator dismounted.

"They should be along shortly." Miroku said as he turned and saw the yourouzoku, and then Kikyo and her archers, priests, and priestesses. "Whoa. Where did Kikyo get all the monks and miko?" he asked.

"She said they'll be supplying special arrows to the bowmen." Kagome replied. Just then, taijiya started to walk out of the forest in droves too. The oldest among them, a middle aged looking well built man, walked up to where the group was and looked at InuYasha.

"_Hanyou._" he seethed. "Sango, is this hanyou going to be leading us in this endeavour?"

"No. I will." A new voice sounded from the edge of the woods. Galahad and Kohaku then emerged from the forest, both of them in black shorts, and Kohaku with what Kagome saw was a large rifle on his back. Sango ran up to her brother.

"Kohaku!" she said as she hugged him lightly. "What's this on your back?"

"Let go of me! Don't touch the weapon! You might make it go off!" Kohaku quickly said in an agitated voice.

"The boy speaks the truth. That weapon has the destructive power to make you literally explode." Galahad quickly said. Sango, surprised, backed away a little.

"Well, what have you learned so far?" she now asked. While they chatted, Galahad walked over to the group. He looked over and noticed Kikyo.

"I'm surprised to see you here. I would think the dead wouldn't have any interest in the problems of the living." He said. Kikyo walked up to him.

"Even though I may be undead, I am still a miko. It's the only thing I know. Though I have nothing to gain from participating in this, as Naraku is not involved, I still feel compelled to do what I can." she replied.

"Anything will help. Though I'd much rather have the archers armed with something more potent, alas, we do not have the technology nor the time. Monk, come hither." Galahad said, pointing at and then beckoning at Miroku. He approached as Kikyo walked back over to the archers.

"Yes, Galahad-sama, what is it?" he asked.

"I have a gift for you that will greatly aid your abilities. My studies of the Soul Cube have allowed me to figure out how to make a holy screen. Therefore I have constructed a gauntlet for that cursed hand of yours that will allow you to use your curse without being possessed by the demons, but do not overuse it. It does have it's limits, and I'm not sure of them." Galahad then reached into the large pocket of his shorts and produced a metal gauntlet with the palm section cut away. The joints of the gauntlet and the metal around the edge of the cut section glowed a soft white.

"Will I still need my normal prayer beads to keep my Kazaanna sealed?"

"Yes." Galahad handed the gauntlet to him.

"I'll have to wait until later to put it on. Putting it on will mean briefly exposing the Kazannaa. Many thanks Galahad-sama. I was afraid that I wasn't going to be much help during this battle." Then the elder taijiya warrior walked up to Galahad.

"You the general?" he asked.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You don't seem like much. You look somewhat like a youkai, yet also not like one at the same time. That leaves me puzzled."

"No, I'm not a youkai, but in the eyes of some, I'm something much worse. I am a human, albeit on a different level. There's no point in explaining it, you wouldn't understand. I can already tell that you do not trust me. I tell you that you must put aside all animosity you may feel. What we shall be facing is many times more evil than youkai. The greatest among these creatures are beyond what you would call oni." The taijiya warrior still looked unconvinced, when InuYasha approached.

"Hey, Galahad. You ready to give me that advanced training? Watch." he said, as he started to whirl Tetsusaiga and begin to advance toward them. The taijiya warrior backed off and watched closely. Galahad just watched as the Tetsusaiga's blade got closer and closer to him. Just seconds before it would have started to cleave him, Galahad whipped out Omnimus and deflected Tetsusaiga upwards. InuYasha had been waiting for something like that, but it surprised him how close Galahad had let him get, but he didn't let it throw off his concentration. Immediately after Galahad had deflected his sword, InuYasha started into a roundhouse kick aimed squarely at the side of Galahad's head, using Tetsusaiga as a counterweight. Galahad's hand went up and caught his foot just mere inches from the kick landing, and the sudden stop left InuYasha staggering.

"Better. That kick is interesting, because on an average opponent, it would have been fatal, but some demons will probably be able to catch it as well. Not with their hand, but with their teeth." InuYasha's eyes widened a tad at that.

"But am I ready for the next part of the training?"

"Yes. But now isn't the time." Galahad now turned and looked over the assembled yourouzoku soldiers, the taijiya, and the monks, priestesses and archers. "I assume that many of you do not know what our foes look like. I shall give a demonstration." Confused looks crossed everybody's faces. Galahad blinked slowly and his eyes started to glow. He then raised his hands out in front of him, and light flashed forth, and an illusion started to form. In the air before him a cloud of blackness swirled, and it began to grow in height and size. It stopped going up at thirty feet, and the shape it took was similar to that of a Baron of Hell, just that its skin was black and there were many parts of it that were not flesh, but steel. A gun of some sort was in the place of the right arm, and half of the mighty demon's face was metal as well. When complete, the illusion was hideous, much more evil and darker looking than a Baron of Hell. Everybody was wide eyed in shock of what they were seeing, except for InuYasha and Kikyo. InuYasha had raised an eyebrow in confusion, while Kikyo was maintaining her deadpan look. The archers meanwhile, were now trembling in fear.

"This, my followers, is something hopefully we will not have to face. This is the depiction of a _Cyberdemon Lord_. I fought this creature at the rim of Hell's reaches, trying to escape. This thing sought to bar me and my comrades' way. We managed to defeat him, but five died in the process. This creature is insanely tough, no mortal weapon of any kind can even harm him. But there is little reason for one of these great abominations to leave Hell, so I doubt we will face one. The next worst thing is this." Galahad then shifted the image. The Cyberdemon hunched over, and wings sprouted from its back, its skin took the tone of blood red, and armor appeared on its body and the steel skin disappeared, and flesh took its place. Two axes appeared in the hands of the monster, and the horns turned upwards. "This is a _Bloodthirster_, a powerful close combat demon that is quite tough, but not very fast. I guarantee that we will face such a creature. But his weakness is in his lack of speed. He can hit hard, but he finds difficulty defending himself from swift attacks." Galahad continued on and went through all the depictions of all the demons he had ever fought, and methods on how to defeat them.

-

Romulus stood atop the gatehouse to his desecrated fortress, watching the nearby volcano erupt again. He was waiting and biding his time now. He figured he should let Galahad's creature and human army grow a little more before attacking. The larger the force, the more his higher demons would enjoy it. And it would also lower the amount of resistance once he slaughtered them. Besides, with his ally with the zombie army to back him up, he would have a sure victory.

Just then a movement in his lands caught his eye, and he turned and focused upon it with his demonic sight, and saw a lone zombie staggering across the smoldering wasteland that Romulus controlled. _'What's this? A lone zombie? Does my ally send a message?' _Romulus thought.Then within the demonic void, he sensed a huge amount of demonic power suddenly erupt from the zombie, who exploded. A dark black mass of energy shot out of the spray of gore and flew at Romulus, who leapt from the gatehouse to evade it. The mass of energy splattered against the gatehouse and flowed down onto the rocky ground, and started to take a form. It took the form of Romulus, though shadowy and translucent. Snarling with rage, Romulus drew Unholy Retribution, his sword, while the shadow of him drew a shadowy blade of the exact same size. The two mirrored figures then started circling one another, trading blows. The shadow creature looked like Romulus, but it did not exactly fight like him. It relied more on its blade than Romulus, who managed to land a couple of fist and kick blows on it. If it hurt the creature, it gave no sign.

"/Creature, why do you fight me/" Romulus said, his black speech sounding like multiple demons speaking as one. It gave no reply, only unleashing a new wave of attacks. Romulus roared and swung back with all his force, shattering the shadow sword and plunging Unholy Retribution into the creature. The shadow Romulus busted, sending pieces of black mass all over Romulus. Romulus started wiping the mass off of him, then it suddenly started to freeze to his skin, making Romulus howl in pain. Now he started to hear a strange, incoherent voice in his head, and his sword arm started to work by itself. It tried to cut off Romulus' head, but Romulus barely managed to stop it. "/My minions! I require assistance/" Romulus shouted.

Demons of all shapes and form suddenly burst from his fortress like a wave and flowed up to him. He pointed to the gray masses on his skin that still seemed to freeze Romulus to the bone. The Barons and Knights now started tearing at the mass, pulling it off their master's skin. Romulus' sword arm tried to stop them, but Romulus managed to wrench the blade from the hand, and received an endless amount of punches to the face until the last of the gray matter was removed. Romulus roared again in rage.

"/What was that milord? That was demonic, but I've never seen a creature like that in the many depths of Hell I've seen./" A Bloodthirster said, looking at the evaporating gray matter on the ground.

"/Some sort of shadow creature. I think it came from our now _former_ ally. Marshall the army. The Heresy Lord has become a problem, and I must rid myself of him./" The Bloodthirster turned and walked off, shouting orders to other demons. Romulus turned again and looked out towards the lands of the Heresy Lord. _'He will pay for this attempt to assassinate me. I will assure it personally.'_


	17. Chapter 17

Futuristic Warrior From The Past

By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon

Chapter XVII

Galahad stood in his makeshift forge, beating away at a heated piece of metal that would be Kohaku's suit of armor. Kohaku himself was outside, giving InuYasha lessons on hand to hand combat. The unrelenting clang of Galahad beating the glowing hot metal made his mind drift slightly, but not shifting his focus. For his first time since awakening, he was thinking of the trip to Earth.

_After returning from Hell with about fifteen other survivors, Galahad found a nearby city, and was received with a hero's welcome. His men and himself were immediately famous, and then the questions started to appear. The populace noticed no matter how many times they asked the superhuman soldiers, they received no answer as to what the inside of Hell itself was like. They also noticed that they were much quieter and colder to others. What had happened it that they all had sworn to tell not a single soul of their encounters in Hell, for any reason. Galahad was even asked by the High Elders about it, and they were met with stark stoic silence. Galahad had received word that some of the other survivors were going into depression, and were being admitted to sanitariums. Some of them died shortly thereafter, their bodies lost the will to function after suffering for so long. Galahad himself was haunted by what he had seen, but he became more devotional, and it seemed to help him cope with it. He would walk the streets, ignoring the gasps and the words spoken to him by the populace of Eden. As he would pass, their expressions of happiness would change to ones of confusion, and anger sometimes. Never before in Galahad's life had he ever felt so alone. Then he found one familiar face, that was as silent as himself._

_Once again he was walking through the streets of one of the massive cities on Eden, surrounded by a throng of citizens. He preceded to ignore their thanks and statements, moving them aside when they got in his way. As Galahad passed by an alleyway, he saw a familiar face within it, watching him with a depressed look. _

_Galahad turned down the alley and stopped a couple of feet from the kid. Something clicked in Galahad's head, and he remembered that this was a child he had saved in when the war was still on Eden. The boy walked over to him, a limp staggering his stride, and Galahad caught a brief glimpse of metal at the boy's ankle. The child had lost his leg from an attack from a imp._

"_I remember you." Galahad said. The boy was older looking, but not quite a teenager._

"_And I remember you. If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead right now." The boy said. The other citizens were passing looks from Galahad to the boy and back. Galahad turned to face them._

"_Would you all just LEAVE ME ALONE! I don't want to speak to you!" He said, almost shouting. They slowly left, giving Galahad an array of different looks. He turned back to the child. "Well, you may know my name already, but I am Galahad." Galahad said, extending his hand. The boy looked at it, then shook it._

"_My name is Ezekiel. I did not know your name actually, but I have heard of the great white haired soldier." Ezekiel said. _

_The boy later went on to say that when that imp had clawed him across his leg a year or two ago, it had severed many of the main arteries in his leg, and he almost bled to death. The medics said he could have kept his leg, if they had better facilities to operate on him with. But the loss of his leg didn't seem to faze Ezekiel that much, but the loss of his entire family had. As the war dragged on, he was passed through foster homes and orphanages, but he didn't fit in with any of them. The war had made him grow up early mentally, they said. So Ezekiel stood apart from the other children he was put with, having seen things for real they had only saw in nightmares. The last foster home he had run away from, agitated with the way the family treated him like he was mentally disabled. _

"_That is quite a bit for someone like you to go through, I would say. But my opinion doesn't mean much, I never had a childhood of any kind." Ezekiel gave him a confused look._

"_What do you mean by 'no childhood of any kind?'" He asked. Galahad gave the explanation that he had been grown in a stasis tube, already at physical and mental maturity when he was brought to life. "Wow, so that's why you guys are always so stone faced. You don't know no better." It was Galahad's turn to give a confused look, but his face soon returned to its familiar carved-out-of-rock look. _

"_So what do you do now? The war is over, and we are once again at peace. Are you retired or something?" The boy asked, the pair had started walking down the street._

"_Something like that. I am on leave for now, but after that I am to be ready, just in case it was to happen again. I have my own accommodations now, if you wish to come with me. It is obvious that you do not want to return to that foster family, but I will report to the authorities that I have you." Ezekiel looked hurt at that. "That does not mean you will be going back to them. I will see if you can stay with me for a while." The boy's face brightened at that. _

_A few days later word came that the ecosystem of Eden was giving out, and that before too long oxygen levels on the planet's surface would start dropping. The Elders concluded that Eden was no longer to fit to live on, and that humanity's resources were to few to try to terraform the planet back to suitable conditions. They decided that the remainder the human race would leave Eden, and go to the nearby planet of Terra, now just entering the stage it would be suitable to live upon. Galahad and other super soldiers were the first humans to leave, so they could scout the surface of the planet for a good place to build a settlement. Ezekiel was placed under the care of the authorities once more, and Galahad never saw him again. Galahad found Terra much different than Eden, it was much colder, much of its surface was encased in ice. He knew it was hospitable to humans, but unpleasant. It wasn't long till there was a city built on the surface. Because of the large ocean it was next to, the city came to be known as Atlantis. No other settlements were established on Terra, but there were military bases scattered across the planet. Galahad was passed from one to another, now more of a legend than a useful soldier. But then the populace became unruly, and conflict broke out, and Galahad was sent into cryogenic freeze until he was to be awoken in the case of an emergency. _

"And that's how I came here." Galahad thought aloud as he stopped hammering and picked up the breastplate he had made. He set it aside for fine detailing and continued onto the next piece.

-

InuYasha blocked another punch from Kohaku, but again was completely caught off guard when Kohaku did a flip over him and delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of InuYasha's head that sent him face first into the ground.

"Well InuYasha, you're still pretty fast in your human state." Kohaku said as the now black haired InuYasha got back up, spitting dirt. It was the night of the new moon, and Kohaku's first time seeing InuYasha human.

"Dang, Kohaku. That was pretty hard. How big are the rocks Galahad's making you carry?" InuYasha said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"It's not so much strength training InuYasha. More that Galahad's taught me now to put my body weight behind it when I deliver a kick." Kohaku replied. InuYasha noticed that since becoming Galahad's student, Kohaku had started to take on the same stone-faced, emotionless demeanor as Galahad. They both went back to sparring.

"Kohaku, what was that strange looking thing on your back when we had that field meeting?" InuYasha asked, blocking a kick from Kohaku and then countering with a punch that Kohaku deflected.

"A weapon using technology from Galahad's people. I wasn't kidding when I told my sister when she hugged me it could reduce her to a pile of bloody chunks if she wasn't careful. Galahad's told me that similar weapons like it exist in Kagome's time, but those weapons are not as powerful." Kohaku replied, attempting to then sweep InuYasha's legs out from under him and failing, as InuYasha had jumped. While in the air, InuYasha delivered a light kick that caught Kohaku in the cheek while he was still off-balance from the failed leg sweep, and Kohaku fell backwards onto his back. He sat up rubbing his cheek a little. "You're getting better InuYasha."

"How's that weapon work?" InuYasha asked as he helped Kohaku back up.

"Think of the same concept as a bow and arrow. It shoots a projectile, but with much more advanced means, and at a much higher speed. So high of a speed in fact, that it's impossible to see the projectile leave the weapon when it's fired." Kohaku said as InuYasha started trying various kicks. "It's the speed of the projectile that causes the damage it can do." It was then that Galahad exited the cave in his armor, and also now carrying a smaller-sized, black duplicate of his armor.

"It's also because of the projectile's large size it's so lethal." Galahad said, surprising them. He then walked up to Kohaku and laid the armor at his feet. "Put this on, and take your hair out of the topknot so the helmet will fit." Kohaku did so and started to don the armor while Galahad looked at InuYasha, one eyebrow raising briefly. "InuYasha, how come you now take the form of a mortal?"

"Look up in the sky. Notice there's no moon? Hanyous like me have a certain time of the month where they lose their powers and change form briefly. Nights of the new moon are when it happens to me. It only lasts the night though, I'll be back to normal in the morning." InuYasha now looked at Kohaku in the suit of armor and helmet, and grinned a little. "Hmm, I wonder…" he then said. InuYasha walked up and started to raise his leg.

"I wouldn't-" Galahad started to say but was too late. InuYasha delivered a hard kick to Kohaku's now armored chest. THOMP

"OOUUUUCCCHHH!" InuYasha screamed, now hopping around on one leg while holding his foot.

"So how does it feel to kick tempered titanium?" Galahad asked, his face not losing any of it's stoniness. Kohaku, however, couldn't help but chuckle a little. He then took his helmet off. Without his hair in the topknot, he looked older than he actually was.

"You know what InuYasha? That actually tickled a little." he then regained his composure, and turned to Galahad. "Sensei, now that my armor is finished what's next?" Galahad had turned to InuYasha.

"Since you're in your human form, you cannot train on blade technique, so leave us." he said. InuYasha just let out a "keh", turned, and started to make his way back to the camp where the army sat. "As for you Kohaku," Galahad now started, turning to face him and drawing Omnimus, "the time has come for you to learn how to use the Void in hand to hand. Seize the Void and prepare yourself." Kohaku then took a deep breath, and his face became blank. He drew the gladius, and took a defensive stance.

Galahad jumped up in the air and came down in an overhead chop. Kohaku stepped back and deflected, but his face twitched a little in concentration as he tried to hold the Void.

"I sense fear in you. It is weakening you. Put all thought aside and fight!" Galahad shouted, and unleashed a barrage of attacks at Kohaku. Because of his strain in keeping a hold on the Void, Kohaku was having a difficult time blocking the attacks. Galahad delivered a powerful kick to Kohaku's chest, sending him flying backwards. Kohaku skidded on his feet, leaning forward to keep from tumbling backwards. When he stopped, he slowly re-raised the gladius to a defensive position. "You must do better than this. Now attack me like you mean to kill!" Galahad said, amplifying his voice so it sounded like it was three of him. Kohaku now shot forward and attacked, but now his movements were smoother and more controlled. Galahad parried the blows, and the difference between the master and student was still clear. Galahad in contrast to Kohaku was completely calm, lithe, his movements flowing together like water. "More speed." Galahad said in the midst of the flurry of sword clashes. Galahad started to sense Kohaku's equilibrium starting to speed up a little, the roots of the Void sunken deep into his mind. Galahad started to speed his equilibrium up too, but only evened it with Kohaku's. Now the pair stood still, their arms blurry with the speed of their movements. Kohaku sped his equilibrium up even more and started to push Galahad back. It eventually came to the point that Kohaku reached his peak and now to an ordinary eye, appeared to be only a black blur in the night air. Galahad then put on a huge surge to his equilibrium and Kohaku in view slowed down considerably. He then stepped forward, plucked the gladius out of Kohaku's still moving hand, and shoved him back, slowing his equilibrium back down immediately. "Stop." he said, as Kohaku skidded backwards again, and stopped. "Very good. Your training is complete. You are at your peak of potential. I release you from my control, for now." Galahad tossed the gladius back to him, Kohaku catching it by the hilt. As Kohaku sheathed it, Galahad disappeared into the darkness of the cave, and Kohaku departed to rejoin his sister and the rest of the army, picking up the massive rifle and speeding his equilibrium back up to shorten the trip.

-

_'What the hell does Kouga want now?'_ InuYasha wondered as he sat down over by the fire. Kouga and Ayame were walking up to where he and rest of his friends were sitting. Since this was InuYasha's vulnerable night, he and his friends were camping deep in the woods beside the field after making up an excuse to do so to keep InuYasha from being seen as a human. He got a little bit of a clue when they allheard a sound that sounded like thunder, but InuYasha could tell this was instead the sound of thousands of soldiers on the march.

"Hey dogshit! Who the hell invited all these inu-youkai soldiers?" Kouga asked angrily as he ran up and got in InuYasha's face.

"Inu-youkai soldiers?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, a large inu-youkai army is approaching. Their leader showed up earlier and said they were coming, but said they were not here to fight me or my soldiers." Ayame said.

"Describe him." InuYasha said, already having an idea of who he believed it was.

"He had long flowing white hair, two swords, a crescent moon on his forehead and stripes on his cheeks."

"That's Sesshomaru, InuYasha's half-brother." Miroku stated. Kouga's eyes opened wide, while a look of shock crossed Ayame's face. "Y-y-you mean, _the _Sesshomaru? You're related to him?" Ayame asked InuYasha, her voice quivering.

"Damn straight. Looks like Galahad finally informed him to show up." InuYasha said.

"Indeed he did, little brother." Sesshomaru said as he walked out of the trees. InuYasha was up in an instant and had the untransformed Tetsusaiga out, as the others tensed up. "Typical of you little brother, your recklessness in readying to fight when you know I could kill you in an instant."

"What the hell do you want Sesshomaru?" InuYasha asked.

"I didn't come to fight. I've instead come to inform you that tomorrow, when you have your abilities back, you and I shall sword duel to test your skills." the inu-youkai lord replied. A scent then hit Sesshomaru, and his eyes narrowed. _'That scent! I recognize it! What is he doing here? He must be ready to die now.'_ Sesshomaru thought. Sesshomaru walked over to the other side of the campsite. Everybody looked at him tensely wondering what he was going to do.

Sango was horrified now to see her brother Kohaku walk out of the brush in front of Sesshomaru. Everybody else except Kouga and Ayame tensed up.

"You are brave to show your face to me, boy." Sesshomaru said as he glared at Kohaku.

"You have nothing to fear from me. That incident with the girl happened while I was being controlled by Naraku. I am free from his influence now and no longer a danger to her." Kohaku said in the same kind of stoic tone. Sesshomaru now noticed the armor he was wearing.

"Did Galahad make you that armor?" he asked.

"He did. I've been his student for the past few weeks, training constantly under him."

_'Hmm. I shall test him.'_ Sesshomaru thought as he narrowed his eyes more. He started to reach for Toukijin, but no sooner had he moved his hand, when in an flash, Kohaku became a blur and had the gladius an inch from Sesshomaru's neck.

"I have no problem with you wishing to test me, but we shall do it out in the field, away from my sister and her friends. You still wish to?" he asked. Everybody else was shocked and stupefied, especially Sango.

"No, I have seen enough." Sesshomaru said. He now looked back over at InuYasha while Kohaku re-sheathed the gladius. "Little brother, you will meet me in the fields in front of my soldiers tomorrow for our duel."

"Why? So you can order them to cheap shot me when I start kicking your ass?" InuYasha asked.

"This Sesshomaru does not stoop to such a level. I want them to see you in action and see along with me if you're now worthy of wielding the Tetsusaiga after Galahad trained you." Sesshomaru said. He now turned to Kouga and Ayame. "I suggest you reassure your soldiers there's no need to fear an ambush from my troops. I've taken measures to prevent any on their part. However, I expect you to do the same." he said before walking off back into the forest toward the field.

"He's a cold one. He reminds me of that Galahad fellow." Ayame said.

"All the more why I hate his guts. They've already teamed up once so Sesshomaru could get something back from me." InuYasha said.

"What'd they grab dogshit?" Kouga asked.

"None of your business you dumbass wolf."

They both growled at each other a final time before Ayame started to drag Kouga off. Sango now looked at her brother and noticed that his hair was no longer in a topknot.

"Kohaku, when did you change your hair?" she asked.

"Just now, under Galahad's orders." he said as he walked over and sat beside her. He then held up the helmet for them all to see. "Had to do that so that I could wear this."

"So Galahad made you that suit of armor?" Shippo said as he hopped over to him.

"He did. And my training is now complete. I was briefly able to match him strike for strike a little while ago in sword play. That's how I managed to move like a blur at Sesshomaru just now." Kohaku said. Sango was a little unnerved at how her brother sounded and looked so much like Galahad now. She'd noticed it first when they had talked in the field before the meeting all those days ago, but now it was even more pronounced. He had told her then that the reason for the change in his demeanor was to improve his fighting abilities. _"Emotions have no place in battle."_ he had told her. Shippo meanwhile noticed the huge rifle on Kohaku's back.

"Whoa, what's this thing?" he asked.

"This?" Kohaku asked, taking the weapon off his back. "This is a weapon that uses technology from Galahad's people. Do any of you know what blackpowder is?" Kohaku asked them.

"I heard that it was invented over on the continent, and that it's used over there to ward off evil spirits in fireworks. Father told me that before all the daimyos started fighting themselves, fireworks were used in festivities in this land too, but not now with all the warring and fighting that goes on." Miroku said.

"Kagome, maybe you could tell everybody about blackpowder guns?" Kohaku said as he got out a small box of tools from a belt on the armor, and began to disassemble the rifle to clean it.

"Sure Kohaku. Guns in general, like Kohaku has, use the explosive force of a rapidly burning powder to shoot a projectile out of a long barrel. If I remember correctly, weapons like this using the blackpowder from the continent, are already in existence in some parts of the world at this time, in other lands, but not here in Japan. The current weapons are very primitive compared to the ones that exist in my time." Kagome said.

"And not very accurate." Kohaku added without looking up as he finished cleaning the rifle and reassembling it. "This weapon, like I told Sango several days ago when we had the meeting, is capable of turning a normal person into disembodied chunks. It's specially made to be used against the demons we'll be facing soon."

"How come your demeanor has changed so much Kohaku? You sound more like Sesshomaru and Galahad when you speak." Kagome now asked.

"A product of Galahad's training. As you all have probably seen, Galahad shows no emotion when he fights. He has taught me to put all emotion aside in battle, and instead fill my mind only with the task of combat during fights. Emotions only serve to weaken you during a fight, causing you to lose your focus and making it easier for your opponent to defeat or kill you." Kohaku said stoically.

"Has Galahad told you anything about a gameplan for this battle yet?" Sango now asked.

"Not really. The only thing he has told me for sure is that I will be putting the huge gun, called a rifle, to good use. Otherwise he wouldn't have given it to me so I could get used to having it and carrying it."

"Could you maybe give us a demonstration of how it works?" Shippo asked, looking up at him. Kohaku looked down at him and patted him on the head while shaking his head no.

"I would, but Galahad has forbade any further target practice with it, for both he and I have only a small amount of ammunition for it, and Galahad plans to give me all the remaining ammunition he has for it before the battle. I've shot it in target practice enough and I'm now very accurate with it. Kagome, how accurate are you with that bow?" Kohaku asked her.

"I managed to pin a squirrel to a tree at 50 meters when I was training with Kikyo." she replied. Kohaku nodded.

"At quadruple that distance, 200 meters, with the rifle I can behead someone with a perfect shot to the forehead if there's no wind." Kohaku said. Everybody's eyes opened wide.

"No bow exists that can even shoot that far!" Sango said.

"Never mind that, no weapon in this time can even behead a person like that!" Kagome said, her voice quavering.

"Like I said, this gun uses highly advanced technology, but it's only the tip of the iceberg of the weapons Galahad's people were capable of." Kohaku said to her, then continuing. "He told me that during the war against the Hellspawn, soldiers carried weapons that, in this era, could easily level a daimyo's fortress in one shot." Everybody shuddered, and Sango decided to change the subject.

"Kohaku, tomorrow, would you try to teach me a little of what Galahad has taught you?" Sango now asked.

"I'd like to, but I'm afraid there's not enough time for it, my sister."


	18. Chapter 18

Romulus stood atop the gatehouse of the Heresy Lord's fortress, watching the sun set; all that were within were dead. He had conquered his rival's lands, after the Heresy Lord had sent that wraith like thing to try to kill him. Romulus had only suffered minimal losses, which was a good thing, all the better to face Galahad's rag tag army. He himself had sustained no injury, the Heresy Lord was no match for him. He felt a stirring feeling within his mind. Bloodlust was arousing in him, driving him to kill and torture. He suppressed the feeling. '_Not yet, it would be unwise to attack now.'_ He thought. It was a long march to where Galahad's forces had gathered, and by the time he had reached them Galahad would have aroused them and have them ready.

"/Back to the fortress. We will rest and recover, and assemble tomorrow. Let Galahad come to us./" Romulus said, the black speech rolling from him like distant thunder. "/Tomorrow marks the day, the day we the creatures of the dark will consume this pitiful earth to satisfy our desire to destroy! Galahad! Tomorrow is the day you stop standing in our way!/" Romulus pointed in the direction Galahad's forces were, roaring. His demonic minions took it up too, until it was deafening in volume. Yes, Romulus would satisfy his bloodlust, by killing Galahad, the mortal champion of Yahweh, in singular combat.

-

The first indication InuYasha got that it was time for him to prove his new skills to Sesshomaru was when he landed on his back on the ground after falling out of the tree he had been sleeping in. Sesshomaru had sliced down the tree with one sweep of Tokijin. It was dawn.

"Ouch." InuYasha growled as he opened his eyes to see Sesshomaru staring over him.

"How typical. Letting such a small thing as a fall get to you. Up, little brother. It's time to prove your worth." Sesshomaru said.

"Keh. You could have woken me up a better way." InuYasha growled as he got up. The others had started to wake up from the commotion of the tree falling. Sesshomaru and InuYasha were about to leave the campsite when Galahad stood up, making his presence known at the outskirts of the campsite. Kagome first noticed him.

"Oh! Galahad, you've cut off your hair." she said. Everybody looked. Where once long white hair had been, Galahad shortened it and had made himself look exactly as he did when they found him. Kohaku rose up immediately. Sesshomaru now started to lead InuYasha out of the forest and to where his army was sitting and waiting, Galahad and Kohaku following. It was not long until they got there. As they approached, InuYasha could feel the eyes of all of Sesshomaru's officers and soldiers upon him, most of them with contempt, some with downright hate. Many eyes were also drawn to Galahad, who's facial expression resembled that of their lord. When Sesshomaru was close to where his top officers were, he stopped and turned.

"Here. Draw the Tetsusaiga, InuYasha, and prove to us all now that you are truly worthy to use it!" Sesshomaru said, drawing Tokijin.

"Keep this short you two. In another half-hour, we mobilize and march." Galahad said. InuYasha drew the Tetsusaiga, and then started to whirl it around him at first and move forward, then started to swing it in a huge X-pattern, speeding up the blade even more, the wind whooshing past the Fang's blade. Sesshomaru only narrowed his eyes a little. InuYasha continued to approach. When InuYasha got close, Sesshomaru made to try and block the attack, but instead the Tokijin was knocked out of his hand and sent flying. Sesshomaru did not give up yet. He jumped back, and unleashed his poison whip to try and get at InuYasha that way. InuYasha responded by then speeding his X-swings of the Tetsusaiga up to as fast as he could possibly go, the wind now howling past the blade, and the sword starting to become a blur, while InuYasha did not stop his advance. Sesshomaru tried desperately to get his whip past the Tetsusaiga, but it was no use, the sword's movements had formed an impenetrable defense as well as a deadly offense. Sesshomaru was now satisfied. He retracted the whip.

"Enough. Cease, InuYasha!" Sesshomaru said sternly. InuYasha started to slow the Tetsusaiga down to a stop. He stopped the blade finally after a few moments, and gracefully resheathed it. "Galahad has indeed taught you well. Men, you approve?" Sesshomaru looked to them. All of them who had swords struck them once against their armor or shields. "They approve."

"Very well." Galahad said. He then amplified his voice. "Everyone up. We march. We leave all non-combat equipment here." His voice sounding as loud as thunder. Everybody woke up suddenly. Kouga, and Ayame then raced up.

"Did you say it's time to move out?" Kouga asked.

"Isn't that what I just said? Rally your forces." Galahad said, his eyes turning where Romulus waited. Kouga nodded and him and Ayame proceeded to further wake up the yourouzoku soldiers and ready them. Kikyo's monks, priestesses and archers were now readying as well. Kagome, Sango and Miroku now came out of the woods. Sango and Miroku on Kirara and joining up with the Taijiya. Kikyo walked over to Kagome.

"You join up with me and my forces." she said. Kagome sighed and nodded. Galahad turned to Kohaku.

"You will remain with Kikyo's forces. Expend your ammunition on the higher level demons. When you've run out, you may enter the fray." Galahad said, handing to Kohaku a small box containing all the remaining ammo for the rifle. Kohaku nodded and proceeded to join up with Kikyo and Kagome. Kagome was a little surprised at this.

"Kohaku?" she said.

"I believe Galahad-sensei wants me to give covering fire for you and Kikyo besides sniping the officers and leaders of the demon army, until my rifle ammo runs out." he looked and noticed Kagome's wakizashi. "Be ready to use that if you have to. There will undoubtedly be more targets then I will have ammo for."

"Okay." Kagome replied.

A few minutes later the army that Galahad had assembled was moving across the land, heading for the coast and Romulus' fortress. Upfront, Galahad turned and whispered a few things to Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru then made a motion, and a group of large, heavily armored inu-youkai marched forward and joined him, InuYasha, and Galahad. InuYasha saw them approaching, and Sesshomaru looked at him.

"Little brother, these soldiers approaching are the toughest, most brutal close quarters soldiers I have. You will work with them during the battle, and lead them. Put them to use where their skills will be the best utilized." he said.

"Got it." InuYasha said. He then joined up with the berserker soldiers and uneasily started to try and get some chatting going between him and them. Meanwhile Kouga ran up to Galahad.

"What's the plan of attack?" he asked.

"We shall advance close enough so the archers can open fire, then wait a few moments. Even though there are many archers, I doubt it will have a great effect on the oni horde, they are more resilient than most creatures. When they start to advance uphill toward us, I will lead the main charge. We will need some forces in reserve, to be called upon when the oni start to break." Galahad said, continuing to stare straight ahead.

"What if the oni don't start to break, what if its us?" Kouga asked.

"That's what Sesshomaru is for, he can resurrect our soldiers when they fall. And I will personally ensure that the oni will break, even if I must push myself beyond my limits."

"How about my soldiers and I serve as a hit and run force? Speed is the yourouzoku's biggest asset." Koga asked, sprinting ahead briefly, and turning around sprinting back to Galahad. "Now not all my guys are that fast, as I have Jewel Shards in my legs, but most of them can sprint at half that speed."

"If you have a force that is as fast as you say it is, then do it. Use the information I gave during the meeting to plan your attacks. Just stay out of the line of fire of the archers. And let me have that for a moment." Galahad said, then reaching over and pulling the katana at Kouga's side. Without touching the handle, Galahad then ran his hand along the blade. The blade started to glow with a whitish light as he gave the blade back to the wolf leader. Kouga was surprised briefly. "I have purified your blade and enhanced it. It'll now be of good use against the demons. Don't touch the blade with your hands, whatever you do." Kouga nodded and, not really knowing how to use the weapon at all, looked among his soldiers and found his best swordsman and handed the weapon to him, repeating the warnings Galahad had given. The swordsman was now feeling a slight tingle of the sword's purifying energy on his legs through the sheath. Kouga now dashed back to Ayame and the rest of the yourouzoku officers.

-

As the army marched on, all signs of life seemed to slowly fade away. Trees disappeared, the sound of wildlife disappeared, even the grass upon the earth gave way to barren rock. The scent of sulfur and burning flesh started to appear and grew stronger as they continued. The sky went from clear and blue to cloudy and dark, as if a great thunderstorm was about to be unleashed, casting a never ending hue of dusk upon the land.

Kagome wiped the sweat from her forehead and increased her pace to meet up to where Galahad and Sesshomaru were walking.

"Galahad, shouldn't we stop and rest for a minute?" she asked. Galahad just turned and looked at her, his face stonier than ever.

"Do you feel tired?" he simply asked.

"Well...no." Kagome replied.

"Welcome to my native element. I feel more comfortable here than I've ever felt on earth. I know what to expect. What you are feeling is a side effect of demonic energy. For some reason, it boosts the human body so that it can perform constantly without a need for rest. That's why you're not tired and it's why we're not stopping. It would be just a waste of time." he said.

"Interesting, I'm now noticing it as well, except that I actually feel its presence, and I feel more revitalized from it." Sesshomaru now said.

"I have no real idea how it will affect you and the other youkai. Pass the word along to everybody that you may start hearing voices. Voices that one cannot attach an owner to, and to ignore what they say. It is simply another side effect." Galahad said to both Sesshomaru and Kagome. Kagome gulped, nodded and made her way back to Kikyo, spreading the word as she did.

As they continued to march on, they now started to see fires sprouting from the ground that seemed to have no apparent source, and the stench of burning flesh and sulfur was almost unbearable to some, while InuYasha and other youkai began to smell the scent of evil itself. Kagome actually now asked Kikyo if she could march with InuYasha for awhile, which Kikyo approved.

_'Help me...' 'Walk into the valley of the darkness with us...' 'IA! IA! CTHULHU FLATAUGHN!!'_ Kagome was getting unnerved at the voices she was now hearing coming from seemingly everywhere but the people near her. They were wearing on her. _'These voices...I wish they would just stop! InuYasha, give me your strength...'_ Kagome thought as she made her way through the soldiers up to where InuYasha was with the bruiser squad. The sights of the surroundings were also getting to her.

_'Join us! Join us! Join us! Join us!!' 'HELL AWAITS!!'_ InuYasha on the other hand, was hearing the voices calling out to the raw youkai within, and it was strengthening, stirring, being able to sense the coming bloodshed of the battle. He could hear himself growling in a low voice as he walked onward, and he could not stop it. _'These voices...they want the inner youkai, are calling out to it. I actually don't feel scared any. Instead...I feel the need to kill, like when I'm transformed. The human side is still keeping me restrained, but how long will it hold out?'_ InuYasha thought. At his side, the Tetsusaiga was starting to hum. It too was now wanting to fight, wanting to kill, but it was also forcefully exerting its dominance over his inner youkai. The Tetsusaiga dominating over his inner youkai was what was mainly giving his human side the strength to restrain him. Around him, the bruiser inuyoukai were starting to snarl too, the voices only getting them pumped up and in the mindset of the coming battle.

Amongst the scents of the burning sulfur, flesh, and the evil, InuYasha then got a whiff of a familiar, calming scent: Kagome. He turned his head and saw her, and commanded the bruisers to let her close.

"InuYasha, your face!" Kagome said as she got close. "I see your youkai markings, but your eyes are normal. And you're growling..."

"The voices, the scents, the sights, just everything is calling out to the inner youkai, stirring it, Kagome. Those things wearing on you?" he asked as she put her hand in his and he gladly accepted it.

"Yes. They're getting to me. I need to be close to you for as long as I can, at least until the fighting starts." she said. He nodded at her.

"I'm glad you're here too Kagome. I was beginning to think the youkai was going to take full control. You're giving the human in me strength to hold back." he said. "We'll walk together until Galahad starts commanding positions." InuYasha said, his human side drawing strength from her scent. Kagome smiled back. Already, the voices and sounds to her were not as loud, now that she could feel InuYasha's aura so close and see him.

In another part of the marching mass, Miroku and Sango were marching with the taijiya and the monks and priestesses, who had now split up and were half with the Taijiya and half with the archers to help offer words of assurance.

"Miroku, I've...I've never thought to see things like this..." Sango said, uneasy a little as she walked.

"Neither have I Sango. Try thinking of tranquil places and things." Miroku said.

"I feel like we are walking through a part of the deepest underworld." a monk near them said.

"That's because it is." A voice behind them said. "What we're seeing sister, is the land that has been subverted so far." Kohaku now said from behind. Sango and the rest of them turned suddenly and saw him in his armor, the rifle on his back as he moved up to beside his sister and Miroku.

"Did Galahad tell you any in advance about any of these sights and sounds?" Sango now asked.

"No, but he did give a lot of help on how to deal with it, and it has been helping out tremendously." Kohaku said, his face almost as stony as Galahad's now.

"How about some of that advice then?" Miroku asked him.

"All I can tell you to do is to empty your mind and focus on the upcoming task. Find an inner fire and feed ALL your emotions to it. Clear your mind of all thoughts except bringing down as many of the coming demons as possible without getting killed yourself." he replied. Sango's face now hardened up too.

"Of course. I remember father saying things like that. Kohaku, you'd better go around telling that to all the humans. The youkai don't seem all that affected by this. Instead, it seems to be psyching them up instead." Sango replied. Kohaku just simply turned and went about with that task.

Kouga and the other wolf youkai were already getting their game faces on at the sights and sounds. Many of them already were wanting to fight.

"Kouga, usually I'm not in the mood of wanting to kill something, but I am now." Ayame said, her face in a snarl.

"Nothing new to me Ayame. I'm usually like this whenever signs of Naraku or his minions or Kagura are around. But I feel that this battle is going to be especially filling." Kouga said. Beside him, the elite wolf swordsman inhaled deeply through his nostrils and let it out slowly.

"Ahh...I can smell it in the air. This scrap is going to be the most intense fight I've been in in a while, if ever." he siad. "Kouga, what's your plan?" Kouga went out in front of them and turned around now walking backwards and started.

"We're a hit and run force guys. Mobility is our biggest asset. The archers and monks/priestesses are going to be the softest targets for these shitbags, but they'll still be effective. Here's what we're gonna do. We'll go for drawing targets of opportunity out into the open to be picked off in a hail of those enchanted arrows. What do you all think?" The youkai soldiers beat their weapons against their armor once.

"One more thing then. Would it bother you all to, if needed, we intercept break off attacks that may target the holy ones and archers? It may go against the grain now, but if you happen to save a monk or priestess' life in that they may repay it later by not killing you if you run across them again." Kouga shouted at them. "So what you do say now to protecting them if needed?" The warriors hit their weapons against their armor again.

"That's what I wanna hear! Today, the yourouzoku will make it's presence known and leave a nice mark in this battle, and you will have an excellent tale to tell your pups and mates if you come out of this. If not, your brothers will speak well of your sacrifice to inspire your tribe and the young!" Kouga finished.

Kikyo could hear the souls within her body trembling in fear at the sounds around her and the overall feeling of dread that was washing over her.

_'Be still, I am still here. I will lead you through this and I will keep you out of danger. Take of my comfort._' Kikyo said in her mind to the souls within her that were now wanting out and away from all this.

"Kikyo-sama, have you ever seen of these things?" An archer near her asked.

"No, I haven't, even though I've been dead once." she said.

"What did you see during your time in the afterlife?" another asked.

"I was mostly in a large meadow where others of virtue were, mostly doing nothing, some of them were talking. I cannot be sure though if it was the best place to be, as I do not remember it clearly." she replied. "I'm not really bothered by these sights and sounds however, if that is what your asking. These are more annoyances to me." she said. The two archers, and the others, smiled at her words, taking assurance in her calmness.

If Galahad wasn't so deeply entrenched in the void, he would be laughing right now. It was strange, the sight of the black clouds and burning rocks was actually comforting him, and he felt more at peace here than he had felt anywhere else on earth. He could sense the demonic army looming ahead, their hatred and bloodlust reaching out to him. He knew they could sense him, since all of their hatred was directed at him. Romulus was like a fleeting shadow amongst all the demons he could sense. Galahad knew they were close, and he called a halt. There over the next rise the demonic army was waiting. They were shouting one word as loud as they could.

"[SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!" They shouted. Even though Galahad was some distance away, he could easily hear them, along with everyone else. Galahad jumped onto a large boulder where he could see everyone. He amplified his voice and called out to them.

"Hear that? That is our foe, calling praises to their master." He paused for a moment. "Look around you. Look at what we have gathered here. Though many of you gathered here are enemies, you have banded together for a common purpose: survival. Do not forget this. Though you have many enemies in this world, none are greater than what resides on the other side of that hill. We fight as one, and we shall prevail as one. After this is finished, do not forget what you have learned from this. Those known as youkai are not truly evil, so they are not truly the foes of mankind. So remember your neighbors after this, and do not look upon them with scorn. Youkai, do not forget that these humans have put aside their fear and hatred of you to fight with you. Remember that nothing is set in stone, and that all can be changed. After this has ended, I ask of you to change the world before you. Change it so that there is no wanton bloodshed. It is pointless, and only feeds the foe before us. The foe before us seeks to rule the whole world, and will stop at nothing to achieve this. We stand as a bulwark against this tide. We are truly the last line of defense for every living thing on this planet, so we cannot fail. We will not fail, as the powers of the heavens are on our side. WE WILL CRUSH THESE FOUL ABOMINATIONS AND CAST THEM BACK INTO THE ABYSS!" Galahad shouted. There was an uproar from the army gathered, and Galahad called for an advance up the hill. He leaped from the rock and sprinted up the hill to view his foe with his eyes.

Massive would not be a fitting word for the horde gathered, nor huge. Titanic was the only word that Galahad could come up with that could best described the army. He had seen larger armies, but in those times he was better prepared. For the first time he wondered if it would be possible to stop this leviathan with what he had gathered. He looked over to Sesshomaru, who was also looking down at the demonic horde. He looked at Galahad.

"Call out the formation. After I call the initial charge, this battle is yours." Galahad said. Sesshomaru said nothing. He turned and started issuing orders to his commanders, who were setting up the formation on top of the hill. _'At least we have the high ground.'_ Galahad thought. He started scanning the horde for Romulus, who was standing in the absolute center of the large lake of evil minions. _'So he has fully become one of them now. All the better. He is more vulnerable to my weapons now.'_ Galahad thought. Romulus had spotted Galahad, and pointed at him, shouting something incoherent in the black speech. The horde roared, and started for them. _'So it begins.'_ Galahad thought. He drew Omnimus, and looked to his left and right, the heavy hitting warriors of inu-youkai were standing beside and behind him.

"LET US END THIS NOW! CHARGE!" Galahad said, supercharging his equilibrium and rocketing down the hill into the wall of demonic flesh.


	19. Chapter 19

Galahad sawed his way through the weaker demons like a lawn mower in high gear, their bodies giving almost no resistance to Omnimus as it passed through them. He really didn't have any interest in them anyway. The rest of the army could handle them; he was on the hunt for one particular demon. A Belphegor tried to step into his path, and Galahad left him to stand there as his arms, legs, and head fell off. Galahad continued to dart around, limbs and heads flying as he went. Then a Bloodthirster stepped into Galahad's path. Galahad didn't really want to waste time with him, so he flung his supercharged Soul Cube at the creature; the detonation of the Bloodthirster's body knocking several demons back. Galahad was beginning to get irritated. _'Is the coward trying to hide from me?' _Galahad thought as he mutilated another Baron of Hell. Suddenly his enhanced senses alerted him of danger, and Galahad nimbly jumped from the path of a large axe. Galahad slowed his equilibrium and then boosted his muscle power. The grin disappeared from the Bloodthirster's face as it saw that it had missed, and that his target had just cleaved its hand off. The Bloodthirster roared and snatched Galahad, who had been standing on the creature's knee. Galahad ran his blade through the demon's palm, and ripped the sword upwards. He then leaped out of the demon's failing grasp and ran up its arm. The demon tried to swat him off, but by then its head was tumbling from its shoulders. Galahad stood atop the headless body for a moment, using the height provided to better look for his true foe. He spotted Romulus a fair ways away, beckoning him to come forth, a grin on the demon's face. Galahad rode the body as it hit the ground, and then he began hacking out a path to Romulus, charging up his soul cube to obliterate the traitor in one shot.

-

InuYasha had sent Kagome back to Kikyo when Galahad had given his speech, and she was at the very back of the army now with the rest of the archers. InuYasha was now in formation with the rest of the bruiser inuyoukai.

"You guys ready?" InuYasha asked them.

"We're ready! It's time to kill! Now show us you can use that sword in battle InuYasha, and not just to win duels!"

"Wait for the signal first!" InuYasha shouted. "Hold...hold..." It was then that Galahad gave the command, and _disappeared_ in a blur toward the demonic horde.

"GO!!" InuYasha shouted and him and the bruisers surged forward. As they ran forward for all they were worth, they saw Galahad hit the demonic front lines like a bowling ball hitting pins. However, the demons that were being knocked into the air were coming apart in bloody hunks and evaporating before hitting the ground. "Now its my turn! _Kaze no Kizu!!_" InuYasha shouted and he slammed the Tetsusaiga down towards the front horde of Imps and Bull Demons. The attack leapt from the blade and had almost the same affect on the front lines as Galahad's charge had, the Wound of the Wind utterly smashing through them like a group of football offensive linemen.

"What do you wish us to do?" one of the bruisers now asked him as they ran forward.

"Keep a buffer zone between me and the pathetic ones while I carve a path to the bigger guys!" InuYasha shouted as he let out another _Kaze no Kizu_ on the run. In this fashion, InuYasha and the bruisers absolutely tore through the opening ranks of demons, too pathetic for InuYasha to use his X-blade technique. This went on for a few moments, the Wound of the Wind making an utter mess of the Imps and Bull Demons, until they now started to approach Hell Warriors. "Form up beside me! Move forward like a wedge! I'm the tip of it!" InuYasha now shouted. The bruisers now formed up beside him and InuYasha started to swing the Tetsusaiga in the X-pattern. "FORWARD!!" he shouted when he got the sword up to speed and started to walk forward toward the approaching Hell Warriors, and Knights.

The Hell Warriors did not stand a chance against the whirling mass of the Tetsusaiga. With so much speed built up in it, it was cleaving through their shields like they were cardboard. When the Hell Warriors tried to stop the Tetsusaiga with their own swords, all that was happening was their swords were shattering like glass when they met it, the Tetsusaiga then cutting into and through their flesh like a hot knife through butter. The bruisers with InuYasha were not having much trouble either, carving up the Hell Warriors not as fast as the Tetsusaiga, but still fast enough to keep up with InuYasha's advance and keep the V-shaped wedge together, which was chewing through the Hell Warriors and now Hell Knights like an auger digging through the ground. The pace of their advance slowed up a bit when they started to hit the Hell Knights, not because they could throw projectiles, just because they were physically tougher and some were forming fire swords in their hands. The bruisers were simply using their shields to block the Knights' projectiles and swords, while with InuYasha, his relentless advance was not giving the Knights the chance to ready their plasma balls or swords before the Tetsusaiga was digging into arms and torsos. InuYasha by now was covered in demon blood that was evaporating pretty quick after it landed on him.

The advance slowed a bit more when they hit the Barons. Now the bruisers shields were starting to blacken from stopping the Barons' plasma balls. It was as InuYasha made it through the last of the Barons' in front of him that it happened.

WHANG!! Shockwaves went through InuYasha's arms when the Tetsusaiga hit the sword of the Belphegor. He grimaced in pain from it, the Tetsusaiga now ringing like a bell, when InuYasha then felt his own head ring like a bell too as he took a hoof between the eyes that sent him sprawling backwards. Blood pouring from his nose, InuYasha barely got the Fang back up to block the next sword strike, and he found himself now face to face with the Belphegor, both of them growling and snarling at one another.

"You possess some skill, _weakling!_ You've done good to make it this far, but you shall go no further!" the Belphegor bellowed at him in fluent Japanese.

"I ain't stopping, _we all_ ain't stopping, until _all_ you Buddha-forsaken bastards are gone!!" InuYasha shouted back as he pressed forward hard with the Tetsusaiga to push the Belphegor back and he then tried to slash across its chest. The Belphegor stopped the slash, and the two then began their duel to the death. The inuyoukai bruisers now formed up in a circle around InuYasha and the Belphegor to keep InuYasha from being blindsided as they continued to chew on Barons and other lower demons that tried to get close.

-

"Please be safe, InuYasha." Kagome said as she had been watching him and the bruisers chew their way into the demonic horde.

"Kagome, you and I _must_ trust him to be okay, and not let that cloud our minds right now. Get in formation with your bow ready." Kikyo said stoically as she now raised her bow up at an angle, arrow nocked. Kagome took a deep breath and let it out slowly, filling her mind with focus on the task at hand to block out the demonic sounds and voices that she was still hearing in her head, and raised her bow up as well. Near them was an inuyoukai officer keeping close watch on the main army. A horn then sounded toward his direction.

"Alright, let loose with the arrows! Send up a storm of them!" he now shouted. Kagome, Kikyo, and the other archers all started firing. All the arrows had a righteous glow on them, but Kagome and Kikyo's arrows were seemingly in the centers of balls of light as they fired them. The arrows flew over the heads of the entire army in front of them down toward the demonic horde. Behind the archers, the priestesses were blessing and powering up several stacks of arrows at a time.

Most of the arrows landed in the midst of the cannon fodder Imps and Bull Demons, killing them in one or two arrows each. Kagome and Kikyo's arrows however were acting like mini-artillery! Kikyo's arrows were detonating like mortar shells in the horde, several Imps and Bull Demons being sent flying and evaporating with each arrow landing. Kagome's arrows were a little weaker. They were having the strength of hand grenades and mines going off in the ranks, sending two to three imps or one to two Bull Demons flailing and evaporating upon landing. Some of the arrows, Kikyo's and Kagome's included, were landing on Hell Warriors and Hell Knights occasionally as well. For them, mostly two to four arrows were getting the job done on killing them, while Kikyo and Kagome's arrows were getting the job done with just one arrow each.

"Cease firing!!" The inuyoukai officer shouted. After everybody stopped firing, the officer turned and shouted down towards the wolf youkai, as now Kohaku was setting up several meters away. "Yorouzoku, advance and attack!" the officer shouted. The wolf tribes gave a shout and started toward the fray, coming down the slope at a ninety degree angle to the rest of the army.

"Now what?" Kagome asked Kikyo.

"We wait until Kouga, Ayame and the other wolves draw out targets to shoot at." Kikyo replied.

**BANG!!** Kagome, the other archers and the priestesses now jumped up in surprise, Kikyo's head only quickly turning toward the sound, as Kohaku's massive rifle opened up for the first time. Down in the fray, a Belphegor's head exploded in a shower of blood, brains, and bits of bone before the body started to evaporate. Kagome had been watching him as he set up, and she saw fire shoot out a foot and a half from the rifle's barrel, while the whole firing chamber and mechanism shot back some and then cycled forward, re-cocking and reloading it at the same time. Kohaku was only jerked a bit from it.

"Kami!! He wields a fire-stick!! It's so loud!!" one of the astonished archers said. Kikyo had not missed the result of the shot too.

"A magic device of the general's. Kagome, are there such devices like that in your time?" she now asked.

"There are, they're just nowhere near as potent as that." Kagome replied. They both now turned toward the battle scene, keeping their arrows ready as Kohaku's rifle opened up again.

-

Kouga kicked the head off of another Imp while Ayame, with her much improved sword, was cutting Imps and Bull Demons apart two to three at a time. Kouga waited until everybody was engaged in combat before issuing his next order.

"Break-off!! Lead 'em out!!" Kouga now shouted out and the other yorouzoku officers repeated the command. The yorouzoku soldiers broke combat then and started to retreat. "Don't open up too much distance with them! Make them follow you!" Kouga again shouted.

As they hoped, the large group of demons took the bait and followed them out into the open where they started to get torn apart by the holy arrows from the archers. After a volley or two of arrows, the wolf youkai turned and re-entered combat and cleaned up the remnants of the group.

"Back at 'em boys! Do it again!" Kouga shouted and the large mass of wolf youkai reformed into a line and re-engaged the flank of the demonic horde, drawing a fresh group of them out to be picked off by the archers and then mopped up by them. They tried the ritual for a third time, but this time the demons that were drawn out turned and started up towards the archers!! "Take up pursuit!! Defend the archers!!" Kouga now shouted and the yorouzoku hurled themselves back at the demons to try and bog them down.

In the group of archers, Kikyo's eyes suddenly widened.

"Archers, miko, they're coming at us! KEEP FIRING, DO NOT STOP! Be ready to enter close quarters!" she shouted out. The inuyoukai officer with them started shouting out orders too to keep firing at the demons as well, trying to calm some the archers who were beginning to panic. The miko however got determined looks on their faces and started to chant some, besides inspiring the archers to not break and flee. Kikyo now looked and saw Kagome still shooting arrows too, but beginning to tremble, and she noticed the wakizashi at her belt.

"Kagome, be ready to use that blade. Have you been trained?" Kikyo asked as she fired another arrow and blew several Imps up in the air. By this time Kohaku had put down the rifle and bolted to his feet, drawing the gladius.

"Yeah, Galahad trained me some on it, but I'm still nervous." Kagome said as she shakily fired another arrow that sent two Imps flying and flailing.

"Just fill your mind with that training as soon as you unsheathe it, if it comes to it." Kikyo replied, checking to make sure she had the tonfa on her belt she had brought with her as she pulled another arrow from her quiver.

The archers got off a few more arrows, when then Kohaku in a blur charged into the demons. Like with Galahad, several of the demons started flying into the air and coming apart in bloody hunks, vaporizing before they hit the ground. A little ways behind him, Kouga, Ayame and the other yorouzoku engaged the demons from the rear. However, still, a small group of imps made it through and started toward Kagome and Kikyo.

-

The Hiraikotsu cut through another swathe of weaker demons like a brush-cutter through grass as Sango and Miroku, on Kirara, flew ahead of the advancing taijiya and monks. They were softening up the masses around them to make their jobs much easier, while at the same time watching out and avoiding the fireballs and plasma balls being hurled at them. They now started to approach a Belphegor and a few Barons and Miroku opened up the gauntleted up Kazaannaa. The holy gauntlet he was wearing purified the demons as they reached his hand to where really the black hole was only sucking air. After the demons were sucked up, he closed the hole back up as Sango caught Hiraikotsu and they made around to go for another pass over the demonic horde.

"I love this gauntlet! I must thank Galahad for it when this is over." Miroku now said.

"Yeah! You're really making a difference thanks to it!" Sango added as she hurled the Hiraikotsu again into another mass of weak demons to mow them down. On the ground, the Taijiya were cutting up the weak demons very well, it was just there was so many of them! Sango's Hiraikotsu shredding through their ranks however was evening the odds nicely.

The monks meanwhile were doing better than the taijiya. Their holy abilities were allowing them to down the Imps and Bull Demons with only one swipe of their staffs. Then however, a group of Hell Knights and Barons approached them and things suddenly got much tougher. The Imps and Bull Demons took advantage of this and started to move toward them again.

Up in the sky on Kirara, Miroku saw this happening out of the corner of his eye. He looked over there and then looked at Sango, who was just then catching the Hiraikotsu.

"Sango, head over there and drop me off. I'm needed." he said, pointing. Sango looked and nodded.

"They're about to be swamped. Who are you going to draw in?" she asked as she pulled Kirara about to start flying in that direction.

"The Knights and Barons. The Brothers can handle the weaker ones as long as they aren't having to fight bigger guys at the same time." Miroku stated.

"Gotcha." Sango replied as she expertly flew Kirara toward the spot like she was piloting a fighter plane. "Alright Miroku, now!!" she said. Miroku jumped off the giant feline and landed between the larger demons and the monks with staff at the ready. Wasting no movements, he then opened up the Kazannaa towards the Barons and Knights and sucked them up. He kept the air rip open a little longer then, sucking up a bunch of Imps to clear out a landing zone for Sango and Kirara. The monks thanked him for his assistance as he quickly climbed back on Kirara and him and Sango were back in the air to keep wreaking havoc from there on the massed weak demons.

-

Sesshomaru and his retinue were going toe to toe with the thick of the of Barons and Belphegors. His entire retinue was still with him, as he had already used Tenseiga twice to revive two of them after being felled earlier, besides him also using it to raise up several fallen of his normal soldiers in the course of the advance. The battle had been going okay so far, from what he could see. His men had not had much trouble hacking and slashing their way through the pathetic Imps and Bull Demons to reach the heavier hitters. Him and his personal retinue were now each dueling with a Belphegor. Toukijin was proving to be a very capable weapon against the demonic forces. And Sesshomaru, when he wasn't using the Tenseiga to revive fallen soldiers, was using the poison whip from his left hand to keep the weaklings beat off of him.

The Belphegor he was engaged with tried another swing. He dodged it and, in the same motion, flicked his left wrist and wrapped his poison whip around the blade of the demon's black tinged sword and yanked. The sword was jerked out of the Belphegor's hands and Sesshomaru then ran the demon through with Toukijin and pulled up, splitting the demon in two from the stomach up as he also flicked his wrist again behind him to send the demon's sword whirling into the group of Imps that were approaching from behind, cutting them to pieces.

Beside him, his second-in-command beheaded another Belphegor with one swing while at the same time performing a roundhouse kick on another one that took its head off. He was starting to engage another Belphegor when he was suddenly crushed by a massive mace. Acting quickly, Sesshomaru whipped out the Tenseiga and revived the officer, his smashed body rapidly healing. Sesshomaru turned to his new foe, and found he was facing a massive foe indeed. The Bloodthirster that stood before him was larger than the rest, standing at least 35 feet tall. It gripped its mace in two hands now, looking down at him with burning eyes. Sesshomaru smirked and shot into the air, slicing the creature across the face with Toukijin, but it was like slicing steel as the blade sparked and ground its way along, leaving the demon unharmed. The demon stepped back and swung at him as he landed on the ground. He barely had time to jump out of the way as the mace thundered into the earth. _'Toukijin has no effect on this one... Tenseiga, we shall see then what __**you**__ can do.' _Sesshomaru thought. He sheathed Toukijin and drew Tenseiga, jumping over the Bloodthirster's mace as it crashed through the inuyoukai lines, flinging warriors into the air. Sesshomaru darted up to one of the demon's legs and slashed it across the thigh, the blade sinking into the demonic flesh. The Bloodthrister roared and tried to stomp on him, who was darting about to dodge the titanic stomps that shook the ground. He managed to avoid being stomped on, but was clipped by the demon's mace as it swung it again. He was knocked back into his lines, his soldiers scrambling to catch him.

"Never mind me, watch out for _that!_" Sesshomaru shouted, pointing at the mace. Everyone leaped aside as the mace smashed into the ground once more. _'Tenseiga harmed it, so I only need to reach something vital.' _he thought. He waited for the Bloodthirster to try to smash him once more, then he shot forward and stabbed the demon in the chest. Tenseiga punched through the demon's tough skin and acidic blood bubbled out, steaming as it ran down the Bloodthrister's body. Sesshomaru jerked out his blade, but not before some of the blood had spilled onto his hand. He switched sword arms and shook his right hand several times to get the blood off of it. He tried to make a fist, but the hand throbbed with every movement. _'That didn't go according to plan.' _he thought as he dodged the mace again. Taking down this monstrosity was going to take a while.

-

Galahad was almost to Romulus; he only had to hack through a few more ranks of the beast's minions before he could engage the traitor. Romulus had not moved since Galahad had last seen him, but the ranks in front of the demon seemed to get thicker and thicker as Galahad hacked through the forest of flesh in front of him. When at last he had reached the demon, Galahad reached back and flung the Soul Cube at Romulus. The demon's eyes widened as the Soul Cube started to fly at him, and he started to take a defensive pose to try to deflect or dodge the object. But fortunately for him, another Bloodthirster unknowingly stepped in the path of the Soul Cube, eager to get at Galahad. The demon looked rather surprised as it was thoroughly eviscerated by the Soul Cube. It collapsed to the ground and began to evaporate. Galahad was furious since his quick attempt to down Romulus had failed, so he sunk deeper into the void and put every ounce of his energy into his muscle power. The silver blur in front of Romulus slowed down, and as Galahad reared back to swing at the demon, his body started to glow. The sideways flick of Galahad's blade was stopped by Romulus' blade of darkness. When the two blades collided, the force behind each blade caused a thunderclap, and a small shock wave shot out from the spot. Galahad smoothly flowed from the sideways swing to a low stab, and Romulus turned his massive body and changed his grip on his sword. He deflected the stab, and the thunderclap became a low rumble from the two blades grinding together. Galahad continued to swing and stab at Romulus, the sound of their blades clashing like that of a massive thunderstorm. Romulus was successful in defending himself, but he was slowly being pushed back. It was risky to change to a one handed grip, since his sword could be knocked from his hand, but it was worth it if he could pull this off. He deflected one of Galahad's slashes, and raised up one arm and shot black lightning at Galahad. He was hit by some of the lightning, but he managed to leap away before he had sustained to much damage. The sliver clad warrior staggered about a bit from the damage he had sustained, and his armor was smoking, but he drew himself back up and flew at Romulus, the force of his attack knocking Romulus off his feet. Galahad leaped up and dropped down to stab Romulus in the chest, but the demon reared up with his hind claws and kicked Galahad away before he could complete his fatal move. Galahad was stabbed in the face from one of Romulus' claws as he was knocked back.

_'The beast is bettering me! I must rethink my strategy and patiently wait for an opening, so I can have the strength to land one fatal blow. That's all I'll need.' _Galahad thought, withdrawing into a defensive stance. Romulus started swinging at him, trying to break him down with his demonic strength, but the silver warrior was putting up a fierce defense. A Belphegor jumped in and kicked Galahad over, and he was ran though by Romulus.

"FOOL! THIS ONE IS **MINE!**" Romulus roared at the Belphegor, flinging the demon back into the demonic horde. In Romulus' brief moment of distraction, he was kicked in the jaw by Galahad and slashed across the torso at the same time. Galahad had kicked Romulus so hard that the demon was actually lifted into the air for a brief moment. Romulus tried to swing at Galahad in the air, but the warrior nimbly spun out of the way and landed on his feet. He shot at Romulus again, and they continued their duel, their swords ringing out like rolling thunder.

-

InuYasha wiped the blood from his lip after taking a fierce right hand to the jaw, and he responded by embedding Tetsusaiga's tip into the ground and using it as an anchor to deliver a devastating double-kick with both of his feet to the Belphegor's face. The Belphegor staggered back stunned and InuYasha, ignoring his still badly bleeding nose, mouth and now bleeding cheek, leapt forward and, bringing the Tetsusaiga down in a slash, cleaved off one of the Belphegor's arms at the shoulder, forcing it to now wield its sword one handed. It still however managed to block his next swing towards its neck in an attempt to take its head, and it responded by raising a hoof and slamming it into his stomach.

InuYasha's eyes went wide in pain and he staggered back, the wind briefly knocked out of him. The Belphegor was about to behead him when it heard the first thunderclap of Galahad and Romulus' swords and it suddenly stopped and looked off in that direction.

"The master is engaged! I must help him!" The Belphegor said in Black Speech before suddenly taking a roundhouse kick to the head from InuYasha.

"I'm still here ya damn maggot!! We ain't finished yet!" InuYasha shouted back at the Belphegor before they both resumed trading sword blows. Because the Belphegor was wielding its sword with only one hand now, it was now getting backed up as InuYasha relentlessly swung at it again and again. In a bid to try and make an opening, it then tried doing a leg sweep, and that's where it made its fatal mistake. InuYasha jumped up and at the same time brought Tetsusaiga down toward the demon's remaining arm, cleaving the arm off at the elbow. When the Tetsusaiga's tip met the ground, InuYasha again used the sword as an anchor and he delivered another double-legged kick to the Belphegor's face, this time knocking it off it's feet. He then yanked Tetsusaiga out of the ground and brought it down hard on the demon's face as it again tried to trip him up. The Tetsusaiga cleanly split the Belphegor's head and upper torso in two and it began to dissolve.

"I may be hanyou, but I'm _not weak!_" InuYasha shouted at the dissolving body as he now assessed his surroundings. Two of the bruiser inuyoukai were down, leaving him down to 10 of the 12 bruisers he had started with. He heard and assessed the direction of the heavy thunder as Galahad and Romulus fought and looked in the opposite direction, and saw a wave of Imps and Bull Demons coming at him and the bruisers from that direction. "Open up a gap right there!" he now shouted to the bruisers in that area. The bruisers complied and opened up a wide berth with a clear path to the Imps and Bull Demons.

"_Kaze no Kizu!!_" InuYasha now brought the Fang down on the ground to take out the wave of weaklings. He did not want them behind him for his next order. "Re-form the wedge!! We go to aid the general, Galahad!!" he now shouted, as he started swinging the Tetsusaiga in the X-pattern once more, the remaining bruiser inuyoukai reforming the wedge on either side of him. "FORWARD!!" InuYasha again shouted with Tetsusaiga whirling at full speed and the heavy inuyoukai "wedge", with the hanyou InuYasha leading it, resumed augering it's way through Hell Warriors, Knights and Barons, this time to now meet up with and possibly assist Galahad.

-

Kikyo never thought she'd see the day she'd have to do this again. When the first imp threw it's fireball at her, she took her bow in her left hand, the tonfa in her right, and sprinted forward; both the bow and the tonfa starting to glow as she put her mystic energies in them. Kagome got the hint and also put her energy into her bow while at the same time drawing her wakizashi, which immediately began to glow a very bright pink. Kikyo in the meantime ran forward and first used her bow to bat away the fireball, and then swung her tonfa at the Imp's face. Its head jerked around violently and it cried out in pain from the holy energy in the tonfa and started to dissolve.

_'Of course! This is how I defended myself against that last curse Tsubaki threw at me!'_ Kagome remembered now as the Imp approaching her now threw a fireball at her. Copying Kikyo, she put aside her fear and charged the Imp too, batting away the fireball with her her powered up bow and following with a downward diagonal slash with her wakizashi that cut the Imp in two, causing it to die and dissolve. Remembering Galahad's training she then jumped back and another Imp approached her. She again waited for it to throw a fireball, but this one didn't. It instead kept approaching and took a swipe at her with its claw. She leaned back and the swipe mostly missed her, but not completely. Her left arm was caught by the Imp's claws and she gave a shout in pain, but somehow, Galahad's training held firm and she only reacted by stabbing the Imp in the stomach and pulling up as hard as she could, slashing the Imp from the stomach up; it also died and dissolved. A third Imp approached her and this time Kagome didn't take any chances. She charged it and swung her wakizashi first in a diagonal slash to the right, then the left, laying down an X-shaped cut in the Imp's torso that left it hissing wildly as it dissolved.

After fighting the initial Imp, Kikyo had continued forward and before the next Imp could prepare a fireball, she had spun the tonfa in her hand so the long end of it was forward in front of her fist. She then made to punch the Imp in the stomach like a boxer, the long end of the tonfa slamming like a ramrod into the Imp's belly. She then pulled back her arm and followed up with a boxer-style uppercut and now the end of the tonfa slammed up under the Imp's chin and sent it sprawling back, dissolving in the process. Now a third Imp approached that Kikyo dispatched by again batting away it's fireball with her bow, and after twirling the tonfa around in her hand again to put the haft under her forearm, she brought her forearm down hard on the Imp's head, the tonfa breaking through bone and the Imp simply collapsing to the ground, dissolving after it fell. It was then that Kohaku, Kouga, Ayame, and the other yorouzoku finished off the remaining demons, Kohaku chopping the limbs off and then decapitating the Baron of Hell that had led the group of them. He now made his way back to his sniper position to set back up.

"Kagome, awesome fighting! I didn't know you had it in you!" Kouga said as him and Ayame ran up to Kagome and Kikyo.

"Galahad has trained her well in the use of that blade." Kikyo now said.

"I didn't come out unscathed though. Ouch, my arm!!" Kagome said, holding her dripping left forearm after re-sheathing her blade. She immediately turned around and sprinted back over to her backpack. Kohaku in the meantime had started opening up with the rifle again, the huge bangs from it going off startling at first the yorouzoku soldiers.

"Kikyo-sama! Kagome-sama! You have inspired all of us! Thank you!" one of the other priestesses now said. The other archers gave them similar praise. "Kikyo-sama, you need any help tending to Kagome-sama's wounds?" the priestess asked. Kikyo shook her head at her.

"No, I can handle this. Kagome, are those modern bandages of yours in your backpack?" she replied, then asking the question.

"Yeah. Get out the gauze, tape, a bottle that says 'hydrogen peroxide', and a tube that says 'antibiotic ointment' on it." Kagome replied, still holding her arm as her sleeve started to get bloody. Kikyo began to get those things out after opening the backpack.

"Kagome, you want us to stay here and guard you and the archers while you get bandaged up?" Kouga now asked. She shook her head as Kikyo started to roll up her sleeve and clean the wound up.

"No, get back down there and get to drawing targets back out to shoot at! I'll be fine. Just make sure none of them make it up here if they attack again." she replied then looked at Kikyo who was confused.

"What is this 'hydrogen peroxide' used for?" she asked.

"Used to clean the wound with. Wet up a couple of the gauze pads with it then wipe them over the wound. Untwist the cap to open it." Kagome said. Kikyo nodded and proceeded to clean the wound in that fashion, Kagome gasping and tensing up when the hydrogen peroxide soaked gauze met the arm wound.

"A word of advice, wolf. If they try charging us again, you and your soldiers should instead take the initiative and put yourselves between us and them instead of chasing them. THAT is what a true guardian force does when it is protecting archers. I know this as I've seen it in human engagements that I was treating the wounded afterwards in." Kikyo said as she now held several gauzes to Kagome's arm and lifted it up. "Hold your arm here Kagome." she said. Kouga nodded solemnly.

"Dammit. I take full responsibility for this happening Kagome. It **will not** happen again!" Kouga now said, his face hardening. He then turned to his soldiers. "Alright guys, back into it we go! Move out!!" he shouted. The yorouzoku hit their weapons against their armor, turned and took off. This time, Kouga made them approach and move differently such that they could still draw demons out, but they were now much better positioned to interpose themselves between the demons and archers should the demons try to charge the archers again.

Kohaku meanwhile, now ran out of ammunition for the rifle and he walked over to Kagome and Kikyo.

"I'm out of ammo for this thing, so I'm going to join the battle. Would you like me to stay close in case I'm needed to protect you all again?" he asked as he laid the rifle beside Kagome's backpack.

"No. You'd be of better use by doing what the general was doing, zipping in there and going after their leaders and officers. If they charge us again, **I** will take down the one leading the attack force with a well placed arrow." Kikyo replied, as she now finished applying the ointment to more gauze and put it now in place over Kagome's arm wound in place of the now bloodied gauze. She now started to wrap the tape up around the wounds. Kohaku nodded, turned and zipped off down the slope and joined the main battle now.

-

Kouga and Ayame were now back at it, leading more hit and run attacks against the demonic horde.

"We're really starting to thin their numbers out!" Kouga shouted as the yourouzoku engaged the Imps and Bull Demons once more.

"Yeah Kouga! Now we'll hopefully get some bigger guys to take down! We're running out of these weak ones!" Ayame shouted back. An idea then came to Kouga. He decided to try penetrating the demon ranks a little deeper.

"Ayame, watch my back! I'm going in deeper to pull out more of them!" he now said. Ayame's eyes widened.

"I don't know about-" but she was cut off when Kouga somersaulted over the front demon lines and deeper into their numbers. He landed in the midst of a bunch of Imps and he immediately entered his tornado, kicking the heads off of Imps and kicking the faces in of a few Bull Demons, when suddenly his tornado was stopped by a mouth closing on his arm! Kouga's head snapped around to see a Bull Demon had bitten down on his arm. He gave out a yelp of pain and immediately proceeded to trying to kick the Bull Demon's mouth open to extract his arm.

Ayame had heard Kouga's yelp of pain and she growled in aggravation while cutting up another Bull Demon.

"Kouga wa baka desu!! Kuso!!" Ayame cursed loudly after disemboweling an Imp, and turned to the best swordsman in the group, Koshiro. He was the one that Kouga had handed his modified sword to before the battle had started.

"Ayame-sama, what is it?" he asked, cutting down three Imps at once.

"Come with me Koshiro, I think we've got a pack leader to rescue." she said then pointing. Koshiro's mouth dropped open.

"Where's Kouga-sama?!" he now asked. Ayame thumbed over her shoulder after stabbing a Bull Demon through the mouth and yanking to the side, causing her sword to explode from the demon's side in a shower of blood, guts, and bone.

"The baka jumped into the thick of them to try and lure more out! Move it soldier! Beside me!!" she shouted as she started hacking deeper into the demon lines. Koshiro's face now hardened and followed.

Meanwhile, Kouga had gotten his arm free, but now more Bull Demons were around him, one with one of his feet in its mouth, trying now to get at the Shikon Shard embedded in the leg. Kouga was kicking furiously, barely keeping other Bull Demons beat off of him when suddenly to his side, the Bull Demons coming to get a bite of him too were cut down, and Ayame and Koshiro emerged. Ayame cut down the Bull Demon still trying to chew on Kouga's leg, while Koshiro proceeded to clear the area. It was then when Kouga saw just how powered up his former trophy now was.

Koshiro was taking 5-6 Imps and Bull Demons at a time, the blade passing through their flesh and bone like it was air. Kouga then felt Ayame lift him up and put him over her shoulder.

"Kouga! You baka! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" she shouted at him.

"Well...no." he said. Ayame only shook her head in disgust, then she turned back to Koshiro.

"Okay, we got him! Out!!" She shouted. They both began to hop out of the horde, jumping across the heads of Imps and Bull Demons before they were finally out. "Lead the break off, and keep the positioning! I'm taking Kouga to safety!" Ayame shouted back at Koshiro.

"Oi! I will!" He barked back. Ayame now began to sprint up the hill towards Kagome and Kikyo, assessing Kouga's wounds along the way. His arms and legs were pretty cut up, and bleeding quite a bit, the blood flowing from the cuts as she ran up the hill. He was breathing hard now too.

"Don't you dare die on me! You still have to be my mate! Have you still got the Shards?" Ayame now asked. He nodded.

"Yes..." was the rather weak reply.

Kagome had found she could still shoot her bow after Kikyo had bandaged up her arm. It hurt to brace her bow against it, and her aim wasn't as good as before due to her arm shaking more, but she was still being able to fire arrows. Her eyes widened in horror however when she saw Ayame approaching with Kouga slung over her shoulders.

"Kouga!! Oh no!" she shouted as Ayame reached them. Kikyo only glanced at them for a minute before resuming shooting arrows. Kagome put down her bow and re-opened her backpack. "What happened to him?" she now asked Ayame as she set Kouga down beside the backpack.

"The baka jumped into the midst of them to draw more out and he got swamped. How much can you help him?" she asked. Kagome now carefully looked over his bleeding wounds, and sighed in relief.

"What a relief. None of his tendons have been severed. I do however see bits and pieces of muscle missing." she now said.

"What about bandages Kagome? Do you still have a few of them?" Kouga asked. She nodded and set to work bandaging him up. Kouga now looked at Ayame.

"I can't go back out there. You think you can assume command?" he asked her. She gave him an annoyed look.

"Of course I can!! Most of them are from my pack anyway!" she said.

"You know the battle plan then. Get to it, and **don't** get yourself killed!" he now ordered. Ayame nodded at him, then retorted:

"After just saving your bacon, you think I'm going to take risks? Hell no! I'll see you after the battle!" she said, then turning and running back down the slope to rejoin the battle. Kouga now looked at Kagome as she started cleaning his wounds.

"How long am I going to be out of action?" he asked her, then wincing as he felt the hydrogen peroxide touch his wounds.

"With these injuries, just walking is going to be painful. No fighting for at least a few weeks." she said.

-

Sango had just finished catching her Hiraikotsu when out of the blue, a Hell Knight's fireball struck Kirara in the chest. The fire-neko let out loud roar like the cat she was and started to thrash.

"Kirara! What's wrong?!" Sango asked down at her. She looked up to see that Kirara was now descending, heading toward a clear spot.

"Sango, what happened to her?" Miroku now asked tensely.

"I think one of the oni managed to get a hit on her! Get ready to jump Miroku!" Sango shouted back. They both braced themselves and as soon as it was safe to, they both jumped off Kirara and the fire-neko touched down on her own, and immediately proceeded to lay down and start licking her chest. Sango looked to see that Kirara's chest was now red and the hair had been scorched off.

Kirara didn't get to lick her chest for long though, as moments after landing, several Imps and Bull Demons, not a wave of them, approached them. Sango threw her Hiraikotsu to take them out that's when a bigger problem emerged.

Miroku saw now a few Hell Warriors and Knights approaching them. He raised his right hand up and opened the Kazannaa again to suck them up. It worked for a few moments while Sango now tended to Kirara, but then a look of horror came to Miroku's face when the holy gauntlet started to crack! However, he couldn't close the air rip back up because there were more Warriors, Knights, and now a few Barons approaching. The gauntlet continued to crack when it suddenly broke up and just came apart and Miroku instantly closed the air rip up. Miroku still looked hard at the approaching bruisers as they now started to grin at him.

"Sango, we have a serious problem. Can Kirara still fight?" He now asked, not looking at her.

Sango turned and looked and her eyes widened at seeing broken pieces of the gauntlet laying at Miroku's feet.

"What happened to it?!" she now asked.

"I think it's purified all the oni it can purify. As I only used it on the stronger guys, that used it up that much quicker. Can Kirara still fight?" he asked again. Kirara, seeing the situation, growled and despite the burning pain from her chest, still got back up. One of the Barons now laughed evilly.

"Now you cannot use that black hole of yours unless you want to be possessed!! It's caused enough headaches as it is. Brothers, let us finish them off!!" he now said, and him and the Warriors and Knights now charged at the monk, slayer and fire-neko.

Miroku, Sango, and Kirara did not flinch at this. They all three had known coming into this battle that they may not make it out alive.

"Sango, if we die here, at least we'll die together." Miroku said with an edge in his voice as the demons got closer.

"I know. We shall take some of them down with us." Sango replied, Kirara growling as well. They all three were about to charge forward too when a miracle happened. It was first seen when a black blur came up behind the Baron. The next thing Sango and Miroku saw, the Baron's head was falling from its shoulders in a spray of blood. As it started to dissolve, the arms first, then the heads of the Warriors and Knights were then cut off in more sprays of blood as the black blur moved passed them.

Sango and Miroku were now stupified at what this black blur was that had just saved their lives. When it came to a stop, Sango's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open when she recognized the suit of armor, except the figure was now wearing a helmet. The figure now lifted an arm up and took the helmet off, and both Sango and Miroku now looked upon the face of Sango's brother, Kohaku! He didn't look as much like her little brother to Sango as she thought though. His stone-faced demeanor so much like Galahad's let her know he was different now.

"Kohaku...you just saved us?" Sango now said. Kohaku nodded.

"Aye, ane-ue. Now follow me back to the rest of the taijiya. With you both out of the sky things are going to get harder for them." he said stoically, then putting his helmet back on and turning around.

"Was that just then what Galahad taught you?" Miroku now asked. Kohaku's helmet only turned briefly.

"Yes, all that was what he taught me, and keeping the mind clear is the key to it. Now move and follow me!" he now said urgently. Miroku and Sango nodded and they and Kirara joined up with him and began to fight their way back to the Taijiya, Sango still utterly amazed at how Kohaku was fighting. He was indeed far beyond her now in ability, even farther beyond than what their father was ever capable of.

-

Sesshomaru leapt away from another thundering crash from the massive Bloodthirster's mace, reviving the soldiers crushed underneath it with Tenseiga. He had sliced it multiple times, and it was bleeding acidic blood everywhere, making safe footing harder and harder to find. But despite the numerous wounds on the massive demon, it showed no signs of fatigue. _'This creature is quite resilient. I must land a more substantial blow to down it.'_ Sesshomaru thought. He gave the demon an opening to swing at him again, and as the demon's mace passed underneath him, Sesshomaru grabbed onto it with his injured arm. Pain lashed through the arm and up Sesshomaru's body, but he ignored it and jabbed Tenseiga into the Bloodthirster's wrist, grinding and twisting the sword around. The demon roared and dropped its mace, the tendons that controlled its fingers severed. It tried to grab Sesshomaru, but the inu-taiyoukai leapt back down to the ground. The massive demon clutched its wrist for a moment and chased Sesshomaru around, trying once again to stomp on him. But then it let the damaged arm drop and it picked up its mace again. _'Now it is weaker with one arm down. Let us hope it is less accurate as well.'_ Sesshomaru thought. The demon swung again, but its aim was off, allowing Sesshomaru to kneel below the reach of the massive mace. _'Now is my chance.'_ Sesshomaru thought. He leapt up into the air, and jammed Tenseiga upwards into the bottom of the Bloodthirster's head, the very tip of the sword poking out of the top of the demon's skull. The demon's face froze in a look of shock, and it dropped its massive mace, crushing a few inuyoukai soldiers along with some Barons of Hell. It reached up to grab at Sesshomaru, but it lost the strength to move. The demon let out a deep guttural growl, as if it was admitting defeat. Sesshomaru, holding onto the hilt of Tenseiga, swung and kicked against the throat of the demon, shifting the balance of it. The demon began to stagger back, and then it fell over backwards, crushing upwards of thirty lesser demons under its massive weight, and shaking the earth as well.

Sesshomaru now extracted Tenseiga from the Bloodthirster's head and made his way over to his soldiers, and now used it to raise those who had fallen.

"Sesshomaru-sama, you've just proven yourself as good as your father, even better actually, in using the Fang of Life to down an enemy like that." his most senior officer now said. "What shall we do now?" Sesshomaru looked off in the direction he heard the thunder of Galahad and Romulus' duel.

"We go to aid the general, Galahad. Move out!" he said.

"Whatever you say, Sesshomaru-sama!" the officer replied, gladness in his voice. The inuyoukai then gathered back together and began to battle their way toward the epic duel between demon and living cherubim warrior.

-

Galahad's body was screaming at him, the muscles of his body burning from the exertion that Galahad was putting them through. But this pain was so distant to Galahad he didn't really feel it. He was so deeply entrenched in the void that pain seemed almost nonexistent. Galahad jumped up again and swung at Romulus' face. Romulus brought up his sword and once again the two blades ground together, generating waves of thunder. Romulus suddenly jumped back, his wings pulling him away from Galahad. Romulus once again shot black lightning at Galahad, but this time Galahad expected it. Galahad briefly switched from muscle boosting to boosting his equilibrium; just enough to speed him through Romulus's defenses and avoid the black lightning. Then he switched back to muscle power and swung at Romulus' chest. Romulus managed to slam Galahad in the head, pounding the silver warrior into the ground, but not without getting slashed in the chest again. The mighty demon lord roared and staggered back, giving Galahad time to recover and back away. The world was spinning around Galahad and all of his vision was shifting in and out of focus. His senses told him Romulus was attacking, and Galahad barely jumped out of reach of Romulus' sword of darkness.

"What's wrong Galahad, weak from your injuries? How pathetic of a mortal." Romulus' voice seemed to twist all of reality about the demon, sending ripples through the air.

"Mortal I may be, but at least I will not burn for eternity." Galahad said, regaining his composure. His voice was also distorting reality, making the air around Galahad crackle with white lightning. '_It is time to end this.'_ Galahad thought. He began boosting his muscle power again, adding in power from his own life force. He felt all pain melt away as he charged himself up. Galahad began to speak again, but this time, his voice literally shook the earth with its might. "You have been charged with treason unto the great Yahweh himself. I have been ordered to terminate you. What do you have to say for yourself?" Romulus laughed.

"I'd like to see you try." Galahad took an offensive stance, his eyes shining like stars.

"So be it. The proud shall be abased." With those words, Galahad shot at Romulus. As Galahad leapt into the air and flew at Romulus, his whole body began to glow very bright, so bright that Romulus put an arm up to block the light, weakening the demon's defenses. Galahad swung and Romulus tried to block the blow, but his sword was shattered with an utterly earsplitting crack. Galahad continued flying at Romulus, plunging Omnimus to the hilt into Romulus chest.


	20. Chapter 20

Galahad swung his feet up as the blade of Omnimus sank into Romulus' chest, and slammed into Romulus with enough force to topple the mighty demon lord. Romulus roared once and all of the demonic spells that held his form were severed, returning him to his human form in a matter of seconds. For the first time, Romulus looked at Galahad with his original dark brown eyes. Galahad pulled Omnimus from Romulus' chest and knelt next to his former comrade, ignoring the carnage still swirling around him.

"Forgive me brother." Romulus sputtered, blood coming from his mouth as he spoke. "I was near death, my stasis field compromised, when I signed their pact to stay alive. You have freed me, and returned reason to me. But it is too late. I go beyond, and willingly serve eternal punishment." Then Romulus' eyes turned glassy, and he went limp.

"Peace unto you brother, I shall pray for your soul." Galahad said, closing the eyes of his former friend, former enemy. He stood up and surveyed the battle going on around him. Now that their focal point, Romulus, was dead, the demons were fighting each other as much as they were fighting Galahad's rag tag army. Within a matter of minutes, the field was empty as the demonic corpses were dissolving into nothing. The mikos and monks were going around purifying the places were demons had not been fully slain.

InuYasha was the first of his army's leaders to make it to him, Galahad taking note of facial cuts. InuYasha looked down at Romulus' corpse.

"So he was the only thing holding them together? He was the only reason they were unified and fighting together, able to put up such a strong fight against us?" the hanyou now asked. Galahad nodded.

"Correct. He was who brought them here, so naturally he's who they turned to for their leadership. The moment he died was was also the moment they turned on each other, as they had no line of succession in their leadership where if he died, a pre-chosen one among them would assume overall control. That is the big weakness with them. They are nothing without a leader." he replied. InuYasha now grinned.

"So that's now it? The battle's over and we can go home?' he asked. Galahad however shook his head.

"No. It is not over yet. If we do not move quickly, the fighting will resume in a short while. Look around you. Notice how even though the demons are dead, the land remains subverted?" he asked. InuYasha's eyes then went wide with shock, and a very aggravated look came now to his face.

"What? It's not over yet? But we've wiped out their army! What do we have to do now?" he asked, frustration in his voice.

"The source of them, little brother. It still exists." Sesshomaru now said as he walked up, his entire retinue of senior officers with them, InuYasha seeing that some of them had been raised back to life with Tenseiga. Sesshomaru had now both Tenseiga and Toukijin sheathed, and InuYasha noticed how one of his hands appeared burned. His armor was scarred up too, and cracked, but it was not broken.

"Well, it looks like you fared alright Sesshomaru." InuYasha now said. Sesshomaru now looked at the bruiser inuyoukai InuYasha still had with him, all eight of them.

"Do you all approve of him?" he asked them. The bruisers now turned to him and bowed. Upon straightening up, they struck their shields with their swords.

"We do, Sesshomaru-sama. When he was leading the charge, we lost no warriors. The warriors that did fall only fell while protecting him as he fought, and slew, one of their elite officers. He has learned well how to use the Fang of the late, great, Inu no Taisho." one of the bruisers now said, speaking on behalf of all of them. Sesshomaru's senior general now walked up to InuYasha.

"That X-pattern technique you used to overwhelm Sesshomaru-sama before the battle, how did you use it InuYasha-san?" he asked. InuYasha sheathed the Tetsusaiga and formed a 'V' with his hands.

"We got in a formation like this, with me as the point, when we got to their officers that the _Kaze no Kizu_ could not utterly wipe out, and slowly churned our way through them. It made an utter mess of them, until we ran into one of their most elite ones and I had to slay him in a duel. Then we reformed the 'V' and started making our way to Galahad." InuYasha replied. The officer nodded.

"You indeed have learned well how to use that weapon. Your father would be proud of you." he replied. Kikyo, Kagome, Ayame, and Kouga now approached the gathering, Ayame carrying Kouga on her back. The senior general turned to them. "Yourouzoku, I would like to thank you on behalf of Sesshomaru-sama for your help. Protecting the archers was a fitting task for you, and the archers were able to rain death on the oni throughout the battle." he said. Ayame bowed for both her and Kouga.

"Domo arigatou. Upon our return to our tribes, we will tell them of your respect." she replied. One of the monks meanwhile, came up to Kikyo.

"Kikyo-sama, the demonic presence is not fading with the death of all the oni, it still persists. After we purify the spots where the oni corpses lay, the corruption returns after only a few seconds. Do you have an explanation why?" he now asked. Kagome now spoke up.

"It might have to do with that very, very evil looking fortress out there, on that distant island. That's where all the demonic auras are centered, from what I can tell." she said. Kikyo nodded in agreement.

"Indeed Kagome. The source of the oni, where they first entered this realm, still stands and lies within that cursed fortress." she said. Galahad nodded at her.

"Your intuition is very sharp woman, even in death. Yes. The gate that Romulus opened directly to Hell itself to bring forth this entire army that we just destroyed, his Hell Gate, is still open. As long as it remains open, more of those abominations, yea, even worse creatures, will be able to enter this world of their own twisted will. Only when the Hell Gate is closed will this be truly over and the demonic corruption begin to fade." Galahad said. InuYasha now nodded in understanding.

"Alright then, how good of a swimmer are you? You, I , and possibly Sesshomaru will all three head out there and just wreck the entire fortress." he now said. Galahad however, shook his head very stearnly.

"No, I will go **alone**. I alone possess the means to close the Hell Gate, for I am the only one who can enter it and survive what will be beyond it." he said. A look of distress and horror came to Kagome's face at those words.

"Did you just say, Galahad-sama, that you now have to go through that Gate and try to destroy it from the other side?" she asked in alarm. He nodded solemnly at her.

"That I did, Kagome. Something like that can only be destroyed from where it was originally created." he said. He then looked at all of them. "Summon all of the leadership here. I have a few things I want all of the leaders of this army to hear before I swim out to the fortress and to my destiny." he ordered. The others nodded and left to get the senior officers of each faction of the army, before he started. "Let me first say that I have learned a lot about the influence of the great Yahweh, and how good still exists in this land, albeit it has changed. Look at the youkai. They are not truly human, yet they fought for the greater good of Creation. I must admit that my faith has been changed over this time, something I thought that would never happen. I am no longer sure of your fates after death. I once thought for sure that you would all potentially suffer for eternity after death, but because of what you have done, you are in my eyes virtuous. Look at Miroku. I once criticized him for his beliefs, and I now feel that it was a sin to do so. So judge not one another, leave that to the greater powers of the beyond. Do not forget what has happened here today, and learn that from this experience that humans and youkai can get along peacefully. I must leave you now, and go beyond to complete my task. I doubt that we will meet again on this earth. I just hope that we meet together in the land beyond this mortal existence."

"Galahad-sama, how are you going to reach that island? It looks to me to be too far for even you to swim to." Kagome asked.

"Strain your eyes and look down the coast. See there?" Galahad said, pointing. "There are some boats there that the oni used to cross to the land. I plan on taking one across the blackened sea to the island."

"Ah, now I see, Galahad-sama." Kagome said, then praying. "I pray to Kami-sama that you not only manage to destroy the Gate from the other side, but that you also either find some way back or at least that you manage to die a peaceful death somehow. You've suffered and seen too much already."

"I thank you for your concern, but do not worry. I do not fear death, regardless of the means I achieve it." Galahad said, walking over to where Sango and Kohaku stood. "Kohaku, that enchanted gladius is mine, and I will need it in the coming struggle. May I have it back?"

Kohaku bowed.

"Of course, Galahad-sensei. I return it to you with honor." he said before rising back up and handing the weapon back to Galahad. Sango and also Miroku now dropped to their knees and bowed.

"Galahad-sama, I would again like to give you my deepest and sincerest thanks for rescuing my brother. You have removed one of my fears of dying at the hands of our adversary. As he is now, Kohaku will make our own battles much better." Sango said in the most solemn, respectful voice she could manage. Miroku meanwhile remained silent.

"Think nothing of it Sango. Just be at peace now." Galahad said. "Kohaku. I have sculpted you to be a supreme warrior. Do not use your new skills for wicked designs, and uphold the honor of the teachings I have given you. You may keep the armor I forged for you. Think of it as a parting gift, my pupil." Galahad said, clapping Kohaku on the shoulder.

"I will not use the skills for anything but the aid of the innocent. A byproduct of your restoring me to life is I remember all the wicked things I did under Naraku's grasp. Your teachings have permitted me to deal with them, and those memories will keep me from raising my hand against another innocent." Kohaku replied, then bowing. "May you bring divine Judgement on the enemy beyond the Gate, and farewell." he finished.

Galahad then turned and made his way to the boats, luckily finding some oars in the small wooden boat. He cast off and rapidly rowed his way towards the island, he knew the sooner he got to the island, the fewer amount of demons he would have to kill to reach the hellgate. As he reached the shore of the island, he could hear an all but too familiar sound, the sound of the tear between dimensions. It was the strangest sound Galahad had ever heard, he could literally hear the voices of the damned coming through the rip in space time fabric. He climbed up the rocks and went into the gatehouse, finding everything abandoned. As he progressed into the gatehouse, Galahad could feel space time being twisted, causing more perceptual distortions. It was tough, but Galahad managed to ignore the distortions and begin his search for the hellgate. As he walked though a corridor in what appeared to be the dungeon, the wall to his right tore out and flew outward, the stone hunks being sucked into the mighty Hellgate.

The Hellgate itself was a part of the far wall of the room Galahad found, mystical and strangely alluring in appearance, but utterly terrifying at the same time. Time, light, space and the dimensional fabric were torn within, and to look upon the gate too long could cause madness. So Galahad forcibly wrenched his vision from the unholy gate to the four large demons coming from the corners of the room.

Guarding the hellgate was four Arch Belphagors, one step below bloodthristers; their goat legs a dark black while their humanoid torsos and arms were almost a burnished red, their heads a mass of teeth, tusks, and horns. Acting quickly, Galahad took one out with a soulcube shot and concentrated his efforts on the other three, who started setting large sections of the floor on fire. Galahad had to leap about the large room, jumping over the zigzag running fires that followed him about. He tucked under the defenses of the first and jumped up, stabbing the demon in the torso with his two blades; as he stabbed, he flung his legs out , swinging himself onto the oni's shoulder, where he leaped off its falling corpse and beheaded the next before it could get defenses up. Just as its head tumbled from its shoulders, Galahad was struck by the claw of the last Arch Belphagor. His armor creaked and barely stood up to the razor sharp claw, and Galahad was flung into the wall. Galahad shot to his feet and sprinted at the last demon, dodging a slow swing by the oni. He tucked and rolled and started hacking into the legs of the demon, severing muscle and tendons. The mighty oni roared and collapsed, where it flipped onto its stomach and started to craw at Galahad. Galahad sped up his equilibrium and zipped around the front of the oni and ran up its back, smoothly decapitating the oni with Omnimus.

Galahad took a moment to catch his breath and listen to the moan of space time creaking from the influence of the gate. Galahad stood up and looked one last time at the gate. He gathered his thoughts, readied himself, and flung himself through the dimensional tear.

-

All of Sesshomaru's warriors were hitting their swords against their shields, along with all the yourouzoku as the army watched Galahad begin to row out to the fortress. Once he was out of sight, InuYasha turned to his elder brother.

"Well, are we just gonna sit here and wait on him, or are we going to go ahead and start heading back?" he asked. Sesshomaru turned to him and his senior officers, shaking his head.

"No, we are going to wait here for some sign that he has managed to close the Hell Gate as he calls it. Once that sign appears. and the corruption of the land begins to subside we will start to journey back." the inutaiyoukai replied. InuYasha cursed lightly under his breath before nodding.

"Alright. I'm going to find Kagome and the others then." he replied, then turning and heading off. He found Kagome tending to Kouga again, and now noticed for the first time the bandage wrapped around her arm. "Woah, what happened to you wolf? Hey, did you allow Kagome to be attacked?!" the hanyou now demanded.

Kouga now only looked at him with a hard stare and remained silent, so Ayame nodded in acknowledgement.

"lt wasn't directly his fault, but during the battle, a group of the rabble we were fighting unexpectedly turned and started for the archers; we were poorly positioned to stop them, and we had to charge them from the rear. The boy in the black armor, Kohaku, greatly thinned out their numbers, but a few of them still got to Kagome-sama and Kikyo-sama." she explained. Kagome nodded.

"Yeah, and if it hadn't"been-" she started, but she was interrupted when they all heard the rumbling of what sounded like an earthquake, and felt it as well.

"What the hell?" InuYasha now asked, forgetting the anger that had been building inside him towards Kouga. Him and everybody else turned to see Kikyo running up towards where Galahad had started off down to the boats, and all the army senior officers followed her. They all felt and heard another rumbling as they approached the shore, and all of them looked out towards the glowing red fortress of Hell. The rumbling started again, but this time it continued and they started to see parts of the fortress begin to collapse.

"Kuso...did he fail and now we're going to have fight something that will need all of us combined at once to take down?" InuYasha now wondered aloud. Kikyo shook her head.

"No. The signature from the abominable fortress is actually starting to fade. The fortress is collapsing and falling in on itself." she now said. No sooner had those words left her lips, then the entire fortress collapsed all at once, and disappeared in a blinding flash of red light, a barren island the only thing remaining. Immediately the signs of the demonic presence began to fade from the land. The sky turned back to natural blue, the voices in everybody's head ceased, and all the demonic signs of the corruption in the land began to fade. After a few minutes, what had been the very demonic battlefield was now only just a barren wasteland. Kikyo nodded.

"Now it is over. The oni presence that was subverting the land is gone. All that remains is the barrenness of the land from the corruption having rooted out all life from it." Kikyo now said. Kagome nodded.

"She speaks the truth. I'm not feeling any more oni presence anywhere. Just emptiness." she said, before sighing, a tear coming to her eyes. "Goodbye, Galahad-sama." she said as she looked down, closing her eyes as she said it. Sesshomaru now turned to all the senior officers,

"I think now is the time we leave. Because of Galahad's instructions to leave all non-combat related supplies behind when we started the march, we do not have provisions with us. No one does. Therefore, all youkai will help the humans return as fast as they can to fertile ground so that nobody will die of thirst on the way back." he started, but then, direct beams of sunlight shot down out of the sky onto the ground, and where the light touched the ground, water springs began to shoot up out of the barren ground to begin re-watering the parched earth. Everybody looked up towards the sky to see where the beams of sunlight were coming from, and they all saw that the beans of light were coming from the clouds.

"Galahad's Kami, Kami-sama, has just given us a great boon, perhaps a reward for our efforts. Now perhaps He will provide for us on our journey back to normal lands as He simultaneously begins trying to heal this land." Kikyo now said. All of the other miko and priests agreed with her and began to send praise up to Yahweh, or as others prefer to call Him, Jehovah, God, or Allah. The army then began the long march back to the fields around the Village of InuYasha, Kaede's village, to go their separate ways, the water springs Yahweh had brought forth out of the barren ground sustaining them on the march back. They all would tell of these happenings to their sons and daughters, and these happenings would come be called the legend of the silver clad warrior, Galahad.


End file.
